


Best Wishes -Refrain-

by magumarashi



Category: Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Pokemon Journey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2020-07-20 16:09:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 33,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19995004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magumarashi/pseuds/magumarashi
Summary: A teen girl named Touko sets off on a journey as a Pokemon trainer, with dreams of becoming a photographer renowned the world over. At the same time, a young man named N begins a journey of his own, sights set on making his lofty ideals a reality.(If you've played Pokemon BW, you know the plot of this fic already; I just added some embellishments here and there)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I had initially planned to port the original version of this fic over to AO3 around the time I ported a bunch of my other fics, but upon rereading it, discovered that it had not aged very well. Which was a shame, because the ideas and characters are still pretty important to me. 
> 
> Anyway recently I got an itch to replay Pokemon Black and simultaneously an itch to revise this fic (like I did for my other pkmn fic that aged poorly) so I decided to just sit down and do it. 
> 
> For this revision, I mainly plan to focus on N's characterization--frankly, it was a _mess_ in the original because I'd started the fic before the game was out in the states (protip: don't do that) and had mostly been going off the N from marketing materials. I also want to iron out some plot details that aged more poorly than others, make sure character and place names were consistent with the English dub (minus Touko and Touya, because you can name them in the game), and give recurring plot-relevant characters more buildup.
> 
> The one character name I'm still a stick in the mud about is Looker; he goes by "Handsome" in all the fics of mine he appears in. (because his first appearance was in PMP, before we had a dub name for him, and I've wanted to stay consistent with that across fics. Yay, bad habits!).
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

_ This part of the story has bothered me for some time now. _

_ Why did the fox ask the little prince to tame him, when he knew that being tamed would only cause him pain? _

A young man sat on the floor in a darkened room, reading by the dim light of a candle-like Pokémon at his side. Other Pokémon were gathered around him, some sleeping, some gazing curiously at the book the young man had in his lap. It was a thin paperback, its corners worn and covers bent. The letters on its spine had long since faded away to nothing. The young man considered the pages carefully, though he almost seemed to be staring  _ through _ the words rather than at them. He’d read this book so many times, he could recite each paragraph from memory; it was one of the precious few books he was able to get away with reading.

A knock sounded at the door. A few of the Pokémon startled awake and scurried off to hide behind furniture and toys.

“Who is it?” the young man asked, without looking up.

“Anthea and Concordia.” A woman’s voice gently filtered through beyond the door. 

The visitors had the young man’s attention now. He turned his head, his tea-green ponytail bobbing.

“What do you want?”

“It’s time,” a second woman’s voice answered him, “To begin your first journey into the world of people.”

The young man looked back down at the book in his hands, glancing over the familiar pages one last time, then gently shut it. He set it down on the floor and stood up, looking at the remaining Pokémon in turn. They seemed to understand what this meant. He’d told them this day would be coming, after all.

The young man wandered over to a table, on which sat a black and white hat. He carefully fit it on his head.

_ That’s right. In order to make my ideals a reality… to become a hero who will change the world, I must leave this place. I’ve spent too long pretending there is nothing else beyond these walls. My new friend is waiting for me. _

The young man went to open the door, and light streamed into the room, filling it with color. He glanced back, briefly, taking in the sight of the garish walls and floors—a pastel paradise he might not see again for a long time. 

He steeled his nerves, then stepped through the door.


	2. An Outing with Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko's dream is to travel Unova and become a world-famous Pokemon photographer. The problem? Her parents won't let her become a Pokemon trainer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the original first chapter of the fic! I had really liked the monologue format when I wrote it but it read really obnoxiously to my adult eyes so I tried to cut back on it a little

_“One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets oneself be tamed…”_

Sunlight streamed through the windows of a quiet house in Nuvema town, illuminating a desk covered in framed photos. Most were of Pokémon—some amateurish, some impressively professional—but all taken with the same photographer’s careful eye. Joining these framed pictures was a certificate in a similar frame, awarded for graduating from Nuvema High School. A black, four-cornered hat decorated with Pokémon doodles lay somewhat crumpled next to it. Just beneath that, a thin, worn paperback had been left out some time before. Its cover read _The Little Prince_ in gold letters. 

Touko glanced over the items on the desk as she got ready for the day: pulling her big, brown hair into a ponytail and stepping into her trusty black boots. She took a pink bag from her closet and slipped her new camera into it; a graduation present from her parents. Her hand-me-down film camera was finally showing its age, and this new camera boasted a digital memory. With a digital camera, she’d be able to take a great number of photos without having to constantly stop and buy more film—a boon for a teen on a journey.

Well, the journey she hoped she’d soon be taking, anyway.

_Now that I’ve graduated… I can finally become a Pokémon trainer._

Touko slung her camera bag over her shoulder and headed downstairs, where the family’s Herdier was snoozing on the cool hardwood floor. The Pokémon opened one eye to check on her before returning to its nap. Other than that, the house was empty: Touko’s parents had already left for work. Touko took her pink-and-white hat off a hook near the front door and fitted it snugly on her head. 

_In Unova, most kids can get their Pokémon trainer license as young as 13 or 14—once they’ve finished middle school, they get a choice between continuing on to high school, or going on a Pokémon journey right away. The experience you get from being a Pokémon trainer out in the world is considered way, way more valuable than anything you’d learn sitting at a desk. Lots of kids take a gap year, or go on to travel the world before returning to complete school as adults._

_Unfortunately, some kids don’t get to make that choice for themselves._

It was a beautiful day in Nuvema town. Flying-type Pokemon flew overhead, and people of all ages were out with their Pokémon to enjoy the day. Though it was a quiet place to live, it wasn’t a very big town. Touko had the layout memorized, could read every sign with her eyes closed, and knew almost everyone in town by face. There wasn’t a lot of through traffic in a town with only one road leading out.

_All my friends got to get their own Pokémon when they finished middle school. My parents didn’t want me traveling by myself that young, so they made me promise I wouldn’t get a Pokémon until I finished high school._

_So, now I’m 17, and I’m basically the only kid in town who still doesn’t have her own Pokémon._

Touko took her usual route through the town, passing the market, the park, and even the school where she’d spent the last several months inside studying. Each time she passed a trainer with their Pokémon, she couldn’t help eyeing them enviously.

But—now that she’d graduated high school and fulfilled her end of the bargain, it seemed like she would finally be able to join the trainers she’d envied for so long. The thought of taking one more step toward her dream made her heart swell. 

_I’ve wanted to be a world-famous Pokémon photographer ever since I was a kid. To get my name out there, I’m gonna travel the world, building my portfolio with pictures of all kinds of Pokémon—and to do that, I’m gonna need a Pokémon of my own to travel with. I’m not really interested in becoming Champion or anything, or even winning all the badges. But in this world, you can’t get very far without a Pokémon, so becoming a trainer is the most important first step. Besides, having my own Pokémon to work with would be fun!_

_Once my parents get home… I’m gonna make sure they know I haven’t forgotten our promise._

Touko turned up a side street, taking a path she’d tread countless times from the time she was little. Her destination was the fifth house from the corner: a quaint bungalow with a blue roof that was home to one of her best friends. She and her friends had been planning this outing for a while now: a trip to the next town over to celebrate their graduation.

When Touko reached the front door, she knocked three times. A bespectacled boy answered the door, with a green-eyed girl behind him. The boy gave the impression of being brainy, what with his short, dark hair and serious eyes. The girl’s demeanor was exactly opposite: her poofy hair and wide eyes made her look slightly scatterbrained.

“Oh good, you’re both here already,” said Touko, grinning.

“Yup! I’m not late this time!” said the blond girl.

“What do you mean, _both_ here?” said the boy with a sigh. “This is my _house.”_

_These guys are Cheren and Bianca. They’ve been my best friends for as long as I can remember. Cheren’s a bit of a know-it-all and Bianca’s a bit of an airhead, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Both of them could have become trainers right out of middle school, but they decided to stick around—Cheren wanted to make sure he finished school, and Bianca didn’t want to leave without us. I’m kind of impressed they stuck around for four years; after all, there isn’t really a whole lot to do in Nuvema._

_Still, they did get their own Pokémon not too long ago. I’m definitely not still a little mad about it._

“Shall we?” asked Cheren. “I thought we’d get lunch up there. Fair?”

“Yeah!” the two girls replied.

The three teens set off, chatting as they went. It didn’t take long to reach the edge of town, and the path ahead stretched into a verdant forest. The group stayed close together, avoiding the tall grass where Pokémon lived—though Cheren and Bianca had their Pokémon close at hand just in case. After about an hour of walking, they reached Accumula town. It was a quaint little town, full of grassy hills and new construction. Novice trainers could be seen hanging around, showing off freshly-caught Pokémon. Touko looked around in excitement, already making plans to approach trainers about taking pictures of their Pokémon. Cheren and Bianca took Pokéballs from their bags.

“Snivy, come on out!” said Cheren.

“You too, Piggy!” said Bianca.

From Cheren’s Pokéball came a green lizard-like Pokémon with a smug expression. From Bianca’s came an orange pig-like Pokémon with big ears. The two Pokémon shook themselves and stretched, chirping happily. Tepig trotted over to Touko and nudged her feet with its snout to say hello.

“Good to see you guys,” said Touko cheerily. By now she was used to burying her envy when she was around her friends’ Pokémon, but it still stung a little that they’d received their first Pokémon without her. Cheren’s was a present from his parents for winning first place in a prestigious essay contest, and Bianca’s had been a reward from the local Pokémon professor for helping her run errands (well, that’s the story she told her parents, anyway—the truth was that it followed her home from the professor’s lab).

“Well, should we go find a battle?” said Cheren, standing up. He adjusted his glasses. “Snivy’s ready for some exercise, right?”

“Sniv!” said Cheren’s Pokémon, stretching its leaflike arms.

“Sounds good to me!” said Bianca. “I wonder if there’s anyone here with a Pokémon we haven’t battled before?”

Suddenly, there was a loud grumbling sound. Everyone looked down toward the source of the noise—it seemed to have come from Tepig.

“Oh! He’s hungry!” said Bianca. She walked over to Touko and took Tepig in her arms. “Maybe we should get some food first.”

“Okay,” said Cheren. “Where should we go?”

“Ramen shop!” said Touko.

“Crepe cafe!” said Bianca

“I… I could go for a hot dog…” Cheren admitted, “But you know what? Let’s all walk together, and if we spot something we all can agree on, we’ll just go there. Fair?”

The girls nodded, and the group began to walk. They passed trainers walking with their Pokémon, shopkeepers sweeping the porches of their shops, and even an old woman giving bread crumbs to a flock of pigeon Pokémon. As Touko kept an eye out for restaurants and food stands, she noticed a number of posters around town that all seemed to be advertising an upcoming protest. “Liberation Demonstration: Free Your Pokémon From Slavery,” the signs read, with images of trainers releasing Pokémon from Pokéballs. Touko frowned to herself.

Unova was a region that had long been plagued by a debate about Pokémon training. Pokémon training was not something that had always existed there; it had been brought over by immigrants from other regions looking for a better life in Unova. The natives had lived together with Pokémon for thousands of years, occasionally borrowing their powers to help with building and farming. When the newcomers arrived, they brought the predecessor of the Pokéball with them. Hundreds of years later and with an established Unova League, Pokémon training was still a hot topic for some. There were those who thought it was inhumane, that Pokémon shouldn’t be taken from the wild and used for sport—but nowadays their voices were a minority, and most Unova residents saw only the benefits of training Pokémon. The latter group included Touko and her friends.

_Liberating Pokémon… what baloney. Don’t they know Pokémon WANT to be with people?_

The teens walked through a park with a fountain, and Bianca finally spotted the crepe stand she’d been looking for. She grabbed Cheren’s arm delightedly.

“Yay! Let’s go get crepes, Cheren!” she said. 

“W-wait—!” Cheren’s protests fell on deaf ears; Bianca was already dragging him away. Snivy and Tepig followed excitedly behind, mirroring their trainers.

As Touko watched them go, something brushed against her legs, and she jumped. Looking down, she discovered that a purple cat-like Pokémon was leaning against her, purring contentedly.

“Oh! A Purrloin!” she said. “I’ve never been this close to one before…”

She bent down to pet it. Its fur was soft and silky, its body warm. The cat Pokémon purred even louder at her touch.

“Wait there for a minute, Purrloin,” said Touko. She hastily got out her camera, hoping to get a shot before the Pokémon wandered away. She made kissy noises at it to get its attention, and then— _Click!_ —managed to take a photo with the Pokémon looking right at her. Luckily, the sound of the camera didn’t seem to faze it. Purrloin took one more lap around her legs and strolled away. Touko watched it go, following it with her eyes across the park…

… until it sat down at the feet of a strange man.

He stood near the fountain, a slight breeze playing in his tea-green hair. Touko had never seen hair so long or so well-kept on a man before—even tied into a ponytail, it reached halfway down his back. Other than his hair, he was mostly unremarkable: he wore plain clothing and tennis shoes, and a black-and-white cap sat on his head. And yet, there was something about him that seemed out of place. Touko couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

She raised her camera to her face, zooming in to get a better look. A closer zoom didn’t give her many more clues about him: he seemed to be wearing some kind of necklace, but that was a common accessory for boys in Unova nowadays. His hat didn’t have any words or logos that could provide any clues about where he’d come from.

Touko could, however, establish one thing quite clearly: he was beautiful. He seemed to be around the same age as she was, perhaps a little older, and even in profile he had distinctly handsome features.

_He almost looks… like a prince._

Though his cap shaded his eyes, Touko could pick out some uncertainty in his expression. Was he lost? Or perhaps waiting for someone? She wondered if she should ask if he needed help… 

“Touko!”

Cheren’s voice called out to her, but Touko was so focused on the mysterious man that she barely heard him. The man bent down to pick up Purrloin—was it _his_ Pokémon? Touko ignored her friend’s call, waiting for the perfect moment…

“Touko!”

The man held his Pokémon high in the air, facing away from the camera. Then he turned, bringing the Pokémon in for a hug, his hair bobbing as he went… 

“Come _on_ , Touko!”

 _Click_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art for this chapter can be found [here!](https://jewish-anime.tumblr.com/post/186880181922/ive-had-the-idea-for-this-for-9-years-and-just)  
>  ~~feels good to finally have the skills to draw the photo she took after 9 years~~
> 
> you've probably already figured this out but that quote at the beginning is from The Little Prince
> 
> I ended up using this chapter to do a lot of worldbuilding re: the relationship between compulsory education and kids going on Pokemon journeys.
> 
>  **Comments on changes from the original:**  
>  Originally, I had tried to create a sense of ~mystery~ for N by having Touko be unsure if he was a girl or a boy from a distance, and try to discern which one based on physical features. Obviously that tactic didn't age well! So instead I tried to emphasize other details about him that might make him seem mysterious.


	3. First Pokemon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At long last, Touko's patience has paid off--she can finally start her own Pokemon journey. All she has to do is get to the lab on time...

Touko couldn’t stop thinking about that shot. When she returned home later that afternoon, she flipped through her camera roll until she found it again. It was a perfect three-quarter closeup, the purple of Purrloin’s body contrasting flawlessly with the man’s green hair. Despite the dischord of contrasting colors, the subjects’ happy expressions gave the piece a feeling of closeness, friendship. The very moment of connection between Pokémon and trainer, in perfect focus. It was the best picture she’d ever taken in her life… 

And she’d taken it of a random stranger, without his permission. 

As beautiful as the shot was, Touko’s stomach twisted with guilt just looking at it. Taking someone’s picture without them knowing was… well, it was creepy. No two ways about it: she’d overstepped her bounds as a photographer, inserting herself into a moment in time with a lack of self-awareness that bordered on voyeuristic. It also meant that she would never be able to publish the best photo she’d ever taken—unless she got the man’s permission first, which she never would. Her heart sank further when she realized the slim chances of their ever meeting again. Why hadn’t she bothered to even ask his name? By the time she and her friends finished lunch, he was gone.

There was something mysterious about that man, even though the picture hadn’t quite captured it. It had been there before, when he was staring off into the distance… Maybe it was just the way the hat shaded his eyes, but it piqued her curiosity nonetheless.

_That green-haired prince… who could he have been?_

“I wonder if I’ll ever see him again…?” She couldn’t help thinking aloud, sighing to herself.

“See who again?” said a voice.

Touko jumped so high that she almost fell off her bed. She carefully put the camera down before running to the door and throwing it open. Both her parents were standing there, concern written on their faces.

“You okay, sweetie?” asked her mother. “It’s not normal for you to just shut up in your room like that.”

“Y-yeah!” Touko spluttered. “Of course I am!”

“More importantly,” said her father, “Who’s this ‘him’?”

_“Nobody!”_ said Touko loudly.

“Well, all right,” laughed her father. “Why don’t you come downstairs? We have something important to tell you.”

Touko nodded nervously. Whenever her parents called her downstairs for a family talk, it was always something big. Touko knew it was either good news or bad news, and she feared the latter.

They all sat around the kitchen table. Her parents both looked at her searchingly, and her father took a deep breath before speaking.

“Touko…” he began, “We are so, so proud of you. Getting through high school was no easy feat, you know. Your mother and I both traveled as trainers when we were young, and we didn’t get around to finishing school until we were much older than you are.”

Touko nodded, indicating that she was listening. Her father took this as a cue to continue.

“We know you wanted to become a trainer early, like your friends… but we thought it was important that you stuck it out and finished school. It’s a lot harder to learn these things in your twenties—trust us.”

“We wanted you to be able to enjoy your journey without worrying about having to go back to school once it ended,” said Touko’s mother. She smiled widely. “You kept your promise, so now we’ll keep ours.”

Touko’s jaw dropped open.

“You mean it?!” she said, standing up in excitement. Her parents nodded.

“Professor Juniper is having a new trainer send-off in a few days,” said Touko’s mother warmly. “She’ll meet you at the lab at 10:00 to give you your first Pokémon.”

“I… I can’t believe it…” Tears filled Touko’s eyes. “Thank you…”

Her mother and father stood up and came around the table to give her a hug. For a long time they stood like that, in a big family embrace. The family’s Herdier even walked over and leaned against Touko’s legs, sensing the gravity of this moment.

“Make us proud, Touko,” said her mother quietly. “You can do anything you set your mind to.”

* * * 

_A handsome little prince, clothed in tea-green and black and white, with only a small, unremarkable planet to call his own. One day, he leaves the comfort of his planet to journey across the stars in search of a friend… because it’s lonely to be alone…_

_It’s always been my favorite book…_

Touko awoke suddenly from her dream and sat straight up in bed. Sunlight streamed in through her window, just as it had every morning that summer. What time was it? Had she woken up before her alarm again…? She rubbed her eyes and turned to look at her clock…

10:30 AM.

Touko jumped straight up and leaped out of her bed, dragging all the covers off in the process. 

_Aw crap, I overslept! My alarm didn’t go off… why not?! No, wait, I don’t have time to find out why; Professor Juniper isn’t going to wait forever! I have to get to the lab before all the starters get taken—!_

Touko had spent the previous night preparing for her journey, so luckily all she had to do was get dressed, grab her hat and camera bag, and leave. She brushed her hair and teeth with whirlwind speed and pulled on her boots, tying them faster than she ever had. Then she pulled her hat on her head, threw her bag over her shoulder, and raced down the stairs.

_Mom and Dad must not be here… did they really go to work? On today, of all days?! That would explain why nobody came running in to wake me up an hour ago. For heck’s sake…!_

Herdier looked at her hopefully, but she ran right past it to the door.

“See you later, Champ! I’ll miss you!”

Touko almost knocked the front door down with the force of her momentum. Breakfast? She’d worry about it later. Parents? She’d say goodbye to them on the way out of town; if they weren’t in the kitchen or the den they’d probably just gone to work. Cheren and Bianca…?

She barreled down the street, gabbing street signs to help her turn corners. Passerby watched her in confusion, hastily moving their Pokémon and children out of her way. Her heart pounded against her ribs and her throat felt tight, but she had no time to worry about those things. If she made it, this could decide where the rest of her life went…!

Touko finally reached the lab: a huge building with a bright red roof that stood out next to the sleepy architecture of the rest of the town. She burst through the front doors, boots clomping on the smooth tile, and made her way toward the professor’s workspace at the back of the main room. She stopped when she reached the professor’s desk, huffing and puffing to catch her breath.

“Professor Juniper!” she said finally, between gasps of air. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry I’m late… I totally overslept… But anyway—! I’m here for my first Pokémon!”

Now that she was starting to catch her breath, Touko finally registered that she wasn’t the only person there. There were two other trainers standing near the professor, and they didn’t look like they were from Unova. The girl had long blue hair, and wore a sporty getup with a red bandana. The boy wore baggy, casual clothes, along with a green headband in an attempt to control his wild silver hair. Were these two the other trainers who would be starting with her? They looked a bit old to be just starting as trainers; they were probably older than she was…

“I’m glad you made it, but…” the professor began apologetically, “I’ve only got one left, I’m afraid. The two other trainers came by right at ten and got to have their pick.”

Touko’s heart sank. She’d missed the opportunity to choose her first Pokémon… But, she consoled herself, there was still one Pokémon left with her name on it. Was it a Snivy, like Cheren’s? Was it a Tepig, like Bianca’s? Or was it the water-type Pokémon? She felt comfortable with Snivy and Tepig because she’d spent so much time with them, so she was hoping it was one of those…

“If you want, you can come back next week,” the professor continued, noticing Touko’s disappointment. “Our next batch will be hatched by then, and you can pick the one you want—!”

“No!” Touko interrupted. “I’ve been waiting _four years_ for this! My parents are finally letting me be a trainer, and I don’t wanna wait another frickin’ day to get my first Pokémon! Whatever you’ve got, I’ll take it!” 

“Well, okay,” said Professor Juniper. “I’ll go get him for you. Sorry, Laura, Terry, I’ll just be a minute…”

“No worries, we can wait,” said the blue-haired trainer. 

Juniper nodded to the others and left the room, but returned quickly with a Pokéball in hand.

“This is Oshawott, the water-type starter Pokémon,” said the professor. “Here, have a look.”

The professor opened the Pokéball, and a small, otter-like Pokémon appeared in a flash of light. It seemed a bit oddly put-together for a Pokémon, with a white face, blue body, and navy ears, feet and tail. It had a big orange nose set between innocent blue eyes. Touko had seen Pokémon like it before, but only on TV, and had never had a chance to look at one up close.

“W-well, okay…” said Touko. She picked up the Pokémon. Its fur was soft, softer even than Purrloin’s had been. “Oshawott, huh? Nice to meet you.”

“Are you sure it’s a good fit for you?” asked the professor. “You seem uncertain about it…”

“I guess it’s kinda cute,” said Touko. “I’ll take it. I’ll take anything.”

“Alright then,” said Professor Juniper. “As long as you take good care of it, it’s yours.”

“I will!”

The professor took five empty Pokéballs from a nearby drawer as Touko recalled Oshawott. She’d save formal introductions for later. It didn’t seem like a very photogenic Pokémon, but maybe it would have its moments. Touko almost kicked herself inside: _This is my first Pokémon! No other Pokémon gets this title, ever! I should be more excited about this…!_

“Here, take these too,” said the professor, handing Touko the five Pokéballs. Touko nodded before hurriedly stuffing them, along with Oshawott’s Pokéball, into her bag. 

“Thanks, professor!” said Touko. “I’ll be on my way now!”

“Wait, there’s still—!” said Professor Juniper, but it was too late. Touko was already out of earshot and on her way out of the lab.

“There’s still the Pokédex…” the professor finished, listlessly. “She’s going to be totally lost without one…”

“Is there any way you could get one to her later?” asked the silver-haired trainer.

“Oh, you know what? There is,” said the professor. “Good thinking, Terry. One of her friends actually likes to help out at the lab. I’ll have to see if she’s home and can help take care of this… sorry, do you mind waiting just a little longer?”

“We’ve got time,” said the blue-haired trainer.

“Thanks, Laura, I really appreciate it,” the professor said with a smile. “Now, where did I put the Xtransciever…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More worldbuilding in this chapter! And a quick cameo from Laura and Terry, who feature in my Hoenn writings, [Hoenn Memories](https://archiveofourown.org/series/216803) and [Delta Emerald](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3451619/chapters/7570391). Originally I'd planned to have a whole additional fic about their adventures in Unova, but never got around to it...
> 
> **Some comments on changes from the original:**  
>  Originally Touko's parents hadn't wanted her to become a trainer because they were protective of her, but that didn't really make sense--I also had Touko mention that her parents weren't really controlling in other aspects, and their trying to keep her from being a trainer didn't come up again during the story at all. So, I wanted to come up with something more reasonable for their motivation.
> 
> Also, Touko's dream was originally Alice in Wonderland themed, though Alice in Wonderland was never referenced again in the fic. I changed it to fit with the Little Prince theme I already have going.
> 
> Final change I'd like to comment on: in the original fic, Touko never received a Pokedex from the professor. This saved me a lot of "whipping out the Pokedex to introduce a Pokemon" scenes, but as I've done more thinking about how I understand the Pokemon world, Touko not having a Pokedex would have left her at a huge disadvantage to other trainers. So, I decided to have her get one this time.
> 
> Whew! Lot of changes this chapter, haha...


	4. An Adventure is Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko has her first Pokemon now, but there's a few things she can't leave town without...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long chapter this time! Usually I don't like having chapters this long, but I couldn't think of a good way to break this one up lmao...

Maybe she’d taken it too suddenly. Maybe she should have thought it over a bit. Maybe it would have been better to actually _look_ at Oshawott for more than five seconds and decide whether or not she really wanted to take it for her first Pokémon. Maybe she should have asked the professor if there was anything else she needed to know before just walking out.

But it was too late to change any of that now. She’d already left the lab; the further away she got, the more awkward it would be to go back. Touko simply walked along the familiar streets of Nuvema town by herself, feeling like an idiot.

 _Well, maybe I should let it out so it can get used to me,_ Touko thought to herself. _No use trying to battle with it if it has no idea who I am…_

Touko reached into her bag and took out Oshawott’s Pokéball. Holding it in her hands, she finally felt a jolt of excitement. She’d never held a Pokéball like this before, knowing that the Pokémon inside was hers and hers alone.

“Come on out, Oshawott!”

She tossed the Pokéball into the air, and it opened in a flash of white light. The same otter Pokémon burst from it, landing on the ground facing her.

“Osha!” it said.

“Hey, Oshawott!” said Touko. She bent down to be closer to its level. “I’m Touko. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier.”

Oshawott nodded in understanding. She supposed that there was something cute about it, even though its nose seemed too big for its face. Maybe it would lose the nose when it evolved? She couldn’t even begin to imagine what sort of Pokémon Oshawott would evolve into.

“Osha osha!” said Oshawott. It pointed to Touko’s bag.

“You want to see what’s in here?” said Touko. Oshawott nodded, and Touko took out her camera. “It’s just my camera, plus the Pokéballs the professor gave me, and some other stuff for traveling. Pjs. Extra underwear. You know.”

Again Oshawott nodded. Despite their awkward first meeting, it was behaving like quite the gentleman. Or was it a lady? Touko couldn’t tell by looking. That was another thing she should have asked the professor.

Oshawott inspected the camera curiously. Touko recognized the opportunity in front of her; she backed up a few paces and aimed the camera at her Pokémon. Oshawott watched her curiously, eyes still on the camera.

“Smile, Oshawott!” she said. Oshawott’s pouty expression immediately brightened, and she snapped its picture.

“Wow! That was really good!” she said, taking a look at the shot she’d taken. “You’re a natural!”

Oshawott bowed before walking back over to her, and she turned the camera so that her Pokémon could see. It chirped happily in response. 

_Do Pokémon like having their picture taken? I’ve only worked with Pokémon that other trainers have…_

Touko put the camera back in her bag and picked up her new friend.

“I think you and I are going to get along just fine,” she said, and she meant it. At first she’d been skeptical about Oshawott, but now it seemed like things wouldn’t be so bad. It definitely didn’t have Snivy’s attitude or Tepig’s hyperactivity. There was something chivalrous about it, and she liked that.

“Maybe I should give you a name?” she said. Oshawott tilted its head curiously. “It’d be weird to just call you Oshawott all the time, right?”

“Osha.”

“Now, what to name you…?”

Touko wracked her brain for ideas, thinking back to the world history class she’d just finished in school. The unit on Bushou warlords had featured some interesting figures with cool names… 

“How about ‘Masamune’?”

“Osha!”

Masamune smiled, seemingly pleased with the new name.

“Glad you like it,” Touko grinned. “And now… it’s time to go find Cheren and Bianca—!”

No sooner did she finish saying it than a tinny tune began to sound from Touko’s bag. She fished around inside before pulling out her Xtransciever. Its screen displayed the words “Call from MOM.” Touko pushed the button to answer, and the message was replaced by a video feed.

“Hi, Touko!” her mother said cheerily. “Just calling to check in. Everything go okay with Professor Juniper?”

“Yeah!” Touko answered—her mother didn’t need to know she overslept and almost missed her chance. She bent down to pick up Oshawott so her mother could see it. “Here’s my Pokémon!”

“Oh! It’s so cute!” said Touko’s mother. “I think you picked the best one, Touko.”

“Hahaaa… me too.”

“Ah, I’m so happy for you…!” said Touko’s mother. “Finally a trainer, after all this time! I’m sorry we couldn’t be there to see you off. Did you see the note from me and dad?”

“The…?” Touko frowned. “What note?”

“It was on the kitchen table,” said Touko’s mother. In her hurry to get to the lab, Touko must not have noticed it. “Your dad and I both got called in to work early this morning—what are the odds?”

“Oof…” said Touko. That explained why nobody had been there to wake her up on time.

“Anyway, we don’t want to keep you home all day until we’re back to see you off,” Touko’s mother went on. “You can get going on your journey whenever you want, okay?”

“Oh… thank you,” said Touko quietly. It would be bittersweet, leaving home without a proper goodbye—but Touko was so anxious to get on the road, she was grateful her parents wouldn’t fault her for it. 

“Just be sure to check in with us this evening,” said Touko’s mother, “Wherever you are. That sound fair?”

“Yeah. Thank you, mom. I mean it.”

“Of course, dear. And good luck!”

The Xtransciever’s screen went black as Touko’s mom hung up. Touko couldn’t help smiling to herself as she put the device back in her bag. She looked at Oshawott, and the little Pokémon looked back at her with a confident expression.

_Alright. Where were we? Right. Cheren and Bianca. We made plans to leave together, so they’d be pissed if I took off without them._

As Touko turned back toward the neighborhood where her friends lived, the sound of pounding footsteps caught her ears.

“ _Tooouko~!!!”_

It was Bianca’s voice. Touko whirled around to see her friend barrelling down the street, Cheren in tow behind her.

“Bianca?!”

“There you are!” Bianca shouted—and immediately caught her foot on a loose sidewalk tile. The poor girl fell face flat on the pavement, Pokéballs spilling from her bag.

“Ack, Bianca—!” 

Touko ran over to help her friend up. Oshawott jumped down from Touko’s arms and immediately set about picking up the scattered Pokéballs.

“Sorry, Touko,” said Bianca apologetically. “Professor Juniper told me to find you right away! We thought you might’ve gone back home already with your new Pokémon, but you weren’t there, sooo—!”

“Hey, hey, easy,” said Touko. “Is the professor looking for me?”

“Not exactly,” said Cheren. As Bianca got to her feet, Cheren took the Pokéballs from Oshawott and put them back in her bag for her. “She told us you forgot to take a Pokédex, and gave one to us to bring to you.”

“Aw, man!” Touko smacked her forehead in disbelief. “I knew I was forgetting _something!”_

“Moreover, how did you just _forget_ to take a Pokédex?” said Cheren incredulously. “It’s only the most important tool for trainers ever made.”

“Wwwwelll,” said Touko, grinning awkwardly. “I was kind of in a hurry… My alarm didn’t go off this morning…”

“Oh no, that sucks!!” said Bianca. “Did you get to pick a Pokémon?!”

“Well, I got one, but I didn’t get to pick which one…” Touko admitted. She looked down at Oshawott, who smiled back up at her reassuringly. “But it’s fine! I like the one I got!”

“So you ended up taking Oshawott…” said Cheren, adjusting his glasses. “Now we have all three starter Pokémon between us.”

“Yup!” said Bianca. “This is so exciting!! I can’t wait for it to meet Piggy! Oh, but first! Here’s your Pokédex, Touko!”

Bianca rummaged in her bag before pulling out a rectangular device with a square screen and Pokéball motif; this she handed to Touko. Touko slid it open, revealing a second screen. Having seen her friends use theirs a few times by now, Touko was already vaguely familiar with the Pokédex’s functions, but she’d never had a chance to try one for herself. She tapped a button to power the device on, and it briefly welcomed her before displaying a menu: “Pokémon,” “Pokédex,” and “Settings” were a few of the options. When Touko tapped the “Pokémon” option, she was met with a display of six slots. The top left slot had an Oshawott icon; the others were blank.

“Ohh, I see,” said Touko. She tapped through to Oshawott’s profile, and the device showed her the Pokémon’s ability, its currently known techniques, and an estimation of its battling ability. She could also see that her Pokémon was indeed male. “Neat. This’ll come in handy.”

“Here, let me introduce Piggy!” said Bianca excitedly. She took a Pokéball from her bag, and allowed it to open. Her Tepig appeared on the sidewalk in a flash of light.

“I may as well let Snivy have a look too,” said Cheren. He took a Pokéball from his pocket, and in a flash of light his Snivy joined the other Pokémon. Oshawott greeted the others cheerily, and they made their respective noises back to him. It was unlikely Oshawott had known the others at Juniper’s lab: they were several years older than he was. Nonetheless, the three Pokémon seemed to have a shared understanding that they’d all come from the same lab.

“Didja name him, Touko?” asked Bianca.

“Oh, yeah,” said Touko. “His name’s Masamune.”

Cheren snorted to himself.

“Nerd.”

“Yeah thanks, kettle,” Touko shot back.

“Anyway,” said Cheren. “Now that you’ve got a Pokémon, there’s only one thing left to do… and that’s have a Pokémon battle!”

“Oh! You’re right!” said Bianca. “Touko, have you had your first battle yet?”

“Not yet,” said Touko.

“Then allow _me_ to be your first opponent!” said Cheren, striking a confident pose with Snivy’s Pokéball.

“Uhh,” said Touko, grimacing. “No thanks?”

“What?!” Cheren nearly fell over. “What do you mean, no?!”

“You’ve got a clear type advantage, dude,” said Touko. “Besides, I _just started_. You’ve had Snivy for years by now; it’s probably way stronger than Masamune can handle.”

“It’s rude to turn down Pokémon battles, you know,” Cheren huffed. “Or did you already forget everything we learned in school?”

“Battling isn’t all there is to Pokémon,” said Touko simply. She turned away, folding her arms. “I don’t have to be a strong trainer to be a good photographer. Right, Masamune?”

“Osha?” Oshawott perked up at the sound of his name, though he hadn’t been following the conversation.

“See? He agrees.”

“Mmmrrr….” Cheren fumed to himself.

“She’s right, though,” said Bianca. “Maybe you can battle Touko later on when you both have more Pokémon? That way it’d be more of a fair fight.”

“Yeah… alright, that’s fair,” said Cheren. “I suppose I’d feel bad being the reason you lost your first ever Pokémon battle.”

“Gee, thanks,” said Touko.

“Are you all ready to go, Touko?” Bianca asked. “You’ve got your extra underwear and everything?”

“Yup!” said Touko. “I made sure I was totally packed last night.”

“Then let’s be off,” said Cheren with a smile. “I want to make it to Striaton city by nightfall!”

“Striaton?! That’s soooo far!” said Bianca. “Can’t we take it one town at a time?”

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to!”

“Alright kids, settle down,” said Touko. She bent down to pick up her Pokémon. “Let’s see how we feel when we get there.”

“Fair enough,” said Cheren. “Shall we, then?”

Together with their Pokémon, the group made their way toward Route 1. Touko looked around as they walked, taking in the familiar landmarks and shops. With any luck, it would be a while before she saw them again. Just thinking about it filled her with excitement and unease in equal measure.

_Keep it together, Touko. You’ve been waiting for this your whole life, right? No backing out now._

Before long, the three trainers reached the edge of town. Route 1 stretched before them, a verdant forest path teeming with wild Pokémon. Touko had walked this route with her friends hundreds of times, but now, she would finally be walking it as a Pokémon trainer. Her heart swelled.

As they prepared to take their first steps out of town, Bianca suddenly turned around.

“Best wishes!” she called out, waving to the town they were about to leave.

“Uhh, Bianca?” said Cheren with a frown. “What’s that all about?”

Bianca turned back to them, grinning cheekily.

“I got it from my mom,” she said. “It sounds nicer than ‘goodbye,’ doesn’t it?”

“Isn’t that just something you say in letters?” Cheren was unimpressed. “And it doesn’t mean ‘goodbye,’ it means—!”

“Nah, I like Bianca’s mom’s idea,” said Touko.

“You guys are hopeless,” said Cheren with a sigh. “Can we leave already? It’s almost lunchtime.”

“Yup!” said Bianca cheerily. “I just wanted to make sure I gave my best wishes to Nuvema town! We might not be back for a long time, after all!”

“You’re still not using that right…” Cheren sighed.

Smiling at her friends’ antics, Touko looked at Oshawott before turning back toward Nuvema. Those familiar streets dotted with shops and parks, all the hangout spots she frequented growing up, and all her neighbors, and her parents… when would she next see them again? Would anything have changed by the time her journey brought her back home?

She would have to let go of it all, for now—and go with confidence that Nuvema town would still be there to welcome her back on her return. 

“Best wishes…” said Touko with a wave. “Right, Masamune?”

“Osha!” Oshawott waved goodbye from Touko’s arms.

Touko took one last look over the town before turning back to her friends. The dreams and adventures that awaited her, the trials and challenges, love and heartbreak—all of these things were distant points in the future. Unknowns waiting to be discovered. Touko would one day look back on this moment and smile to herself, remembering how everything played out afterward, and how little she’d known to expect. How the very axis of her world would soon shift for reasons far beyond her control.

But to the Touko of this moment, the world was only an endless, open road before her. 

And it was finally hers to explore.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couple more comments on changes!  
> \--Originally, Touko didn't nickname her Pokemon until much later (read: I didn't have the game in my hands for several months after starting this fic and only later decided on a team/nicknames). Bushou Warlords are a nod to Pokemon Conquest, providing an in for Touko to give her Oshawott [an extremely nerdy reference name.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_Masamune)  
> \--This chapter originally consisted of just Touko talking to Oshawott, then skipped over the other stuff because I was in a hurry to get to more important things. Now that I have more motivation I was able to add all this other stuff  
> \--Originally Touko battled Cheren and Bianca offscreen between this chapter and the next; instead of just copping out like that, this time I figured out a valid reason Touko wouldn't be ready to battle them.  
> \--Decided to drop the title of the fic wayyyy earlier this time (last time I introduced it maybe 2/3 of the way through?)


	5. A Man Called N

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko and Cheren wander Accumula town, searching for trainers to battle, when they happen upon a crowd gathered around a demonstration of some kind...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original version of this fic, for my sanity's sake I decided to just skip ahead to scenes I actually wanted to write, providing summaries of what happened in between. (The last time I had tried to write a whole Pokemon journey fic start to finish with no timeskips, it took me two years. I was not ready to embark on another 2 year endeavor.) This time I'm fleshing out more than before, but will still jump ahead from time to time.
> 
> I'm also finding that the revised chapters are ending up on the long side, so uh... have fun!

_Once they reach Accumula town, Cheren is eager to continue on to Striaton City. Bianca and Touko decide to hang around Accumula for a little while so that Touko and Oshawott can train with trainers around her level. Cheren leaves without them, citing a desire to win his first badge as soon as possible._

_The following day, however, Cheren returns to Accumula: he lost at the gym without knocking out even one of the gym leader’s Pokémon. Bianca faces a problem of her own, as well: she neglected to tell her parents she was going on a journey, out of fear that her father would stop her from going. Her father, furious, threatened to storm up to Accumula to retrieve her. Determined to prove that she could handle going on a journey, Bianca sets off for Striaton city, leaving Touko and Cheren to run interference should Bianca’s father make good on his word._

_The following sunny morning, the two friends wander around town, looking for people to train with…_

As Touko and Cheren walked through Accumula town, they noticed a commotion at the park. A crowd of people were gathered around a small hill in one corner of the park, and someone atop the hill was shouting. Sharing quizzical glances, the two of them approached to see what the fuss was about.

“I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However... Is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans... only _assume_ that this is the truth?”

Touko and Cheren had worked their way to the front by now, squeezing by between enraptured bystanders. The speaker atop the hill was an older man, dressed in archaic-looking ceremonial robes. Touko noticed that his hair was long and green, just like the mysterious man’s had been… but this certainly wasn’t him. Too old, with too commanding a presence in his colorful robes. An odd device covered his left eye, giving him a somewhat menacing air. Behind the speaker was a row of men and women in hoods and tunics, with one on each end holding banners with a coat of arms-like logo.

“Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of trainers…” the old man went on. “They get pushed around when they are supposedly our ‘partners’ at work... Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?”

_What’s all this crap? That doesn’t make any sense… Has this dude ever seen people and Pokémon interact?_

“In olden times, people and Pokémon lived in harmony,” the old man continued. “There was no concept of the ‘battles’ that pit Pokémon against each other for people’s amusement—only living beings coexisting as equals. The introduction of the Pokéball to Unova disrupted that harmony. With the Pokéball came the notion of master and servant—that humans could have power over Pokémon!” 

“Baloney…” Touko muttered under her breath, holding Oshawott a little tighter.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called Pokémon?”

The crowd exchanged nervous glances.

"That's right! We must _liberate_ the Pokémon!” the old man exclaimed. “Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals!”

Touko was just about ready to leave, but in that moment Oshawott squirmed and jumped out of her arms. He waddled over to the old man and looked up at him defiantly.

“Ack, Masamune—!” Touko cried.

“Osha! Osha osha Oshawott!” Oshawott shouted.

For a moment, there was dead silence—nobody had tried to speak up before now, and nobody was sure how the man would react to such an interruption. In the next instant the old man bent down and grabbed Oshawott, holding him up and looking him straight in the eyes.

“Running to your trainer’s defense, are you?” he growled. “I’d bet you were brought up in that lab down the road! Of _course_ you would be the first to defend trainers! They’re all you’ve ever known!”

“Osha!” Oshawott struggled in the man’s grip.

“Masamune, no—!” shouted Touko. She made to take Oshawott back, but Cheren grabbed her arm, fearing what the man would do next. 

“Touko, your Pokéball—!” Cheren hissed. “Just recall it!”

“Oh, right!” 

Touko got out Oshawott’s Pokéball, but the gesture didn’t escape the old man’s notice.

“And now you’re going to force your Pokémon back into its ball for speaking out of turn,” said the old man. “Sickening, truly. The lengths trainers go to—!”

_“Please put that Pokémon down.”_

A clear voice cut the old man off. Heads turned, and the crowd parted to let the newcomer through. Touko gasped in surprise when she recognized him: it was the mysterious man from before, tea-green hair and all. The stranger walked up to the old man with a measured gait and put his hands on Oshawott protectively. The older man scowled at him, but did not attempt to resist.

“They’ve heard enough,” said the newcomer simply, gesturing to the crowd with his chin. His voice was smooth and practiced, as though he had public speaking experience himself. “Let them think on your proclamations for a bit. I’ll take that Pokémon off your hands for the time being.”

The old man grudgingly released Oshawott, and the newcomer held the Pokémon as gently as he would a small child.

“Now, if you’ve finished your speech,” said the newcomer. “Team Plasma’s business is finished here. I think you had better leave. It would be hard for the people to think on your words with you breathing down their necks, wouldn’t it?”

The old man grumbled in acknowledgement, then turned to look at the crowd once more.

“I am Ghetsis, and we are Team Plasma,” said the man. He seemed to have regained his composure somewhat. “I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon... and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention.” 

The man called Ghetsis then nodded to his flock before setting off, his posse of strangely-dressed followers behind him.

With the excitement over, the crowd began to break up, murmuring amongst themselves and discussing Ghetsis’ proclamations. Touko took her chance to approach the mysterious man and get her Pokémon back. Cheren followed close behind. As she approached, she could hear the man speaking, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. Was he talking to her Pokémon? He patted Oshawott on the head endearingly, as if they’d known each other for a long time.

“Excuse me,” said Touko finally, waving to get his attention.

The newcomer jumped at her voice and turned to face her. He eyed her quietly for a time, something unreadable in his expression—or maybe it was just the way his hat shaded his eyes. 

“Er… can I help you?” he asked.

“Um,” said Touko, “That’s my Oshawott… thanks a bunch for saving him. Can I get him back now?”

“So this is _your_ Pokémon…” said the man quietly. He looked at Oshawott, seemingly reluctant to hand him over. “Just now Oshawott was telling me…”

The man paused as Cheren and Touko exchanged confused looks.

“Huh?” said Cheren. “Pokémon can’t talk, can they? That’s ridiculous.”

“Yes, it was talking to me…” said the man distantly. “Oh, that means you two can’t hear it either. How sad.”

_What’s going on here?_ Touko thought to herself. _What’s with this guy? Pokémon talking? Everyone knows Pokémon can’t talk. He’s weirder than I thought._

“Well, anyway,” said Touko, “Thanks again for saving him. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t stepped in.”

“No problem,” said the man. “I can’t stand to see Pokémon hurt, so I had to do something. It was brave of Oshawott to stand up to him.”

“Yeah…” said Touko. The man was speaking completely differently to her than he had to Team Plasma; where before his words had been even and clear, now he spoke more casually, at a much faster pace. She found this a bit odd, but maybe he just felt more comfortable talking to someone closer to his own age. “Uh… can I get my Pokémon back?

“Oh, right! I’m sorry,” said the man. He held out Oshawott so that Touko could take him, and the Pokémon let out a happy chirp as he returned to Touko’s arms.

“I don’t think we’ve met before,” said Touko. “My name’s Touko, and this is Masamune.”

“Osha!” 

“My name is N,” the man responded.

“N? Just N?” said Touko. _That’s a weird name…_

“Yes, just the letter N,” said N. “In math, N can stand for any number starting from 1. I think that’s neat, so that’s why I go by N.”

“Huh. Well, it’s nice to meet you, N.”

Touko held her hand out in greeting. N hesitated for a minute before taking her hand, and the two of them shook awkwardly. _Has he never done a handshake before?_ Touko found herself thinking. _Who is this guy??_

“What am I, chopped liver?” Cheren piped up. “I’m Cheren, by the way.”

“Right, sorry,” said Touko. “This guy is my friend. We’re both from Nuvema town.”

“I see,” said N, smiling. “It’s good to have friends. My friends are all Pokémon, though.”

N’s warm expression faded as Touko got out Oshawott’s Pokéball to recall him.

“You keep your Pokémon in a Pokéball…” he said.

Touko looked up at him quizzically.

“Yeah? Of course I do. I’m a Pokémon trainer.”

“Oh…” N seemed disappointed by this; he lowered his head.

“Is there something wrong with being a Pokémon trainer?” Cheren asked, frowning. “I’m a trainer too. Are you not?”

“No, I’m not a trainer…” said N. “I like being with Pokémon, but I just can’t help wondering… are Pokémon _really_ happy inside Pokéballs?”

“Oh.” Touko took a cautious step back. “That’s kind of what those Plasma people were saying. Are you with them?”

N paused before shaking his head.

“I wouldn’t say that,” he said, “But sometimes their views and mine line up. Team Plasma is trying to set Pokémon free from trainers. I think there might be some merit to that ideal. After all, one day I want to change the world for Pokémon’s sake…”

“Slow down,” Cheren cut in. “You talk too fast. Are you saying Team Plasma are the good guys here?”

“Well, I don’t think they’re wrong,” said N.

“Huh…?” said Touko. This N was weirder than she could possibly have imagined. She almost wished she hadn’t talked to him, so that the mysterious, princely impression she’d had from the first time she’d seen him wouldn’t have been completely ruined by the reality of who he was. But, she figured, if he was trying to do something for Pokémon… he couldn’t be all bad. And he’d certainly helped her Pokémon out of a pinch. Maybe there was more to him than he let on.

“Pokémon are our friends,” N continued vaguely. “I can’t help but wonder if humans have forgotten that, considering the way they treat Pokémon…”

“Sorry, but I have to disagree,” said Cheren, pushing his glasses up his nose. “People and Pokémon travel and train together because we believe our relationship is mutually beneficial.”

“How do you know Pokémon think that?” N snapped. “How do you know, if you can’t hear their voices?”

The two trainers were a bit taken aback by his sudden outburst.

“Maybe we don’t,” said Touko cautiously, hoping to defuse some of the tension. “Maybe we don’t know that for sure. C’mon, Cheren, drop it.”

Cheren grumbled, but said nothing further.

“Anyway, thanks again for saving my Pokémon,” said Touko. The quicker they could get away from this awkward conversation, the better. “Cheren and I had better go. Maybe we’ll meet again somewhere.”

“Perhaps…” N’s voice was distant again. Thoughtful. _That was a quick turnaround_ , Touko thought to herself. 

“See you around, N.”

“Yes. See you.”

N turned to leave, his hair bobbing slightly behind him. Touko couldn’t help watching it, mesmerized. Her own bouncy hair took a lot of upkeep—special shampoos, specific care regimens—so she couldn’t imagine hair like his was natural. And yet, he made it look so effortless… Sour as their conversation had been, she couldn’t help admiring him.

“Uh… N?”

N turned around at the sound of her voice, his hair bouncing regally as he went. It was almost like the day she’d taken his picture… For a moment that mysterious prince returned, and her heart danced in spite of itself.

“Uh—I really like your hair!” Touko blurted.

She immediately felt like an idiot for saying it. What was she thinking, telling a near-stranger she liked his hair? Especially after the conversation they’d just had? But to her relief, N’s face lit up.

“…. Thank you,” he said, a faint smile on his lips. “I should get going, though. Goodbye.”

And he was gone, walking up the road and away. Touko watched him go until Cheren impatiently pulled her along by the arm, and she couldn’t get her mind off him the whole way back to the Pokémon Center.

_What a weirdo. Maybe he’s so weird because he doesn’t spend much time with people—he_ **_did_ ** _say all his friends are Pokémon. That would explain why he thinks Pokémon training is wrong, at least. If he actually_ **_knew_ ** _any Pokémon trainers, I doubt he’d think they’re all bad._

Touko frowned to herself.

_At the same time, though… It must be kind of lonely, only having Pokémon for friends._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Comments on changes:**  
>  This is actually the third version of this scene, again because I started the fic before the game was out in english (don't be me kids). In the vanilla version, N's personality was completely wrong (I had him act like a ~perfect suave gentleman~) and Ghetsis could understand Pokemon because I assumed he and N were blood related. Whoopsie! 
> 
> About a month or so after finishing the fic I had to go back in and make a bunch of changes because my brain couldn't stand how wrong I'd turned out to be lmao. In version 1.5 I sort of fixed N's personality (but not all the way) and added a nameless grunt who could translate what Pokemon were saying for Ghetsis, instead of just... getting rid of that dialog altogether? I don't know. I wasn't good at killing darlings back then. Anyway, I'm finally satisfied with the version you see here.


	6. Encounter in Nacrene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After arriving in Nacrene city, Touko spends some time practicing her photography with trainers and their Pokemon. Before too long, she crosses paths once again with that mysterious boy named N...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience, y'all! Truth be told I've actually written ahead about a chapter or so further than this, but immediately got to a battle and my motivation flew out the window >_< (extra rough is the fact that I'm currently writing new scenes from scratch instead of revising extant material). Now that I've written that battle my motivation has returned somewhat, so it's time to emerge from the woodwork with a post!

_A day passed in Accumula, and Touko made her way to Striaton, catching a Lillipup on the way. Despite having no desire to pursue badges, she ended up challenging the gym because an old man prevented her from leaving town until she showed him the Striaton badge. He stressed the importance of having at least one badge to show one’s capability as a trainer, and in the end Touko humored him by winning at the gym. At the Dreamyard she faced off with Team Plasma, who were after a rare Pokémon called Munna. Though Touko was able to fend them off and protect Munna, she wondered whether Team Plasma was really working to free Pokémon—after all, they’d tried to take Munna against its will._

_Not too long after, Touko set out for Nacrene, capturing a Blitzle on the way. She again faced off with Team Plasma, who had stolen a Pokémon from one of the children at the daycare. After recovering the Pokémon, Touko felt surer in her suspicion that Team Plasma was really up to no good; all the talk of “liberating Pokémon” was just a front for stealing Pokémon from others._

_Once Touko reached Nacrene, she was able to get back into the swing of Pokémon photography. Nacrene was full of young artists and their Pokémon, and she was able to practice her craft with eager volunteers—while selling digital copies of each shot for a small fee. Touko spent much of the afternoon photographing Pokémon…_

“That’s perfect! Nice pose, Sparkles!”

“Bliz bliz!”

Touko pressed a button to check the shot she’d taken: another trainer’s Blitzle striking a majestic-looking pose, lightning arcing off its mane. Blitzle’s trainer, a tall man with messy hair and a backpack, came over to take a look. He nodded when he saw the shot.

“Wow, that’s great!” said Blitzle’s trainer. “Sparkles, you’re a natural!”

“Bliz!” As if living up to its name, Blitzle’s black and white fur crackled with electric sparks in delight.

“Your name was Touko, right?” said Blitzle’s trainer. “How much is a digital copy again? I’d love to get one to have as my Pokédex background.”

“Just 100 Pokédollars,” said Touko. “Thank _you_ for helping me practice my photography! Now, if I can get your email, I’ll send you a copy tonight when I get back to the Pokémon Center.”

“Absolutely! I’ve got a pad right here…” The man swung his backpack around and started digging around for a pencil and paper. “You should really up your prices, you know. You’ve got the skills to be charging 5k a pop if you wanted!”

“Aw, but then nobody would buy one,” said Touko with an apologetic laugh.

“Still though,” said the trainer. “Don’t sell yourself so short, Touko. You’ve got some serious talent.” 

Having finally found what he was looking for, Blitzle’s trainer set his bag down so he could write his email down unimpeded. As she waited for him, Touko scanned the area for other trainers she could approach for photos. Her eyes caught something tea-green not too far away, and she did a double-take. 

N was standing just down the block, watching them with his hands in his pockets. 

A shiver went down her spine.

_N’s here..?! How long has he been standing there?_

Touko pretended she hadn’t seen him. She took the backpacker’s email, along with payment for the photo—he and Blitzle were already a few steps away before Touko noticed he’d given her five 100 Pokédollar coins instead of one. Next to his email, there was a short message: _Start at 500. Work your way up! We’re rooting for you._

She couldn’t help smiling to herself as she slipped the coins and note into her bag.

“You take pictures of Pokémon?”

Touko turned toward the voice: N had finally decided to approach her, smiling amicably.

“Oh, yeah…” said Touko awkwardly.

“That’s neat,” said N. “You’re the person I met in Accumula Town, right? Sorry, I’m not so good with names…”

“It’s Touko,” Touko reminded him.

“Right, I remember now,” said N. “I didn’t know you liked to take pictures.”

“Yup,” Touko smiled. “I’m practicing so I can become a famous Pokémon photographer someday.”

“Oh, really?” N seemed interested. “Can I see?”

“Uh…” Touko looked around for a place they could sit down—her camera roll had hundreds of pictures already, and she was wary of N handling her brand-new camera. “Sure! Here, why don’t we go sit at that cafe over there?”

Touko pointed to a cafe down the road, where there was an open patio with tables and chairs. N nodded, and the two of them headed over to sit down. 

Sour as their previous interaction had been, Touko couldn’t help wanting to talk to him again. Was it because she found him attractive? Well… yes. No two ways about it on that one. He was, quite frankly, the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. But beyond that, the impression he’d given her last time was less openly antagonistic and more just… lonely. He didn’t seem like he had a lot of friends, and she found herself wanting to understand why he thought the way he did. Maybe there was something she could do to change his mind… 

Once they reached the cafe, Touko picked out a table in the corner away from the street. N took the seat across from her, and Touko pulled up the camera roll before carefully handing the camera to him.

“Here, you can use the arrow buttons to scroll through,” she explained. N nodded, and started browsing. Touko watched for his reactions as he browsed through the pictures: his expression was cautious at first, but he seemed to soften as he went from picture to picture.

“They all look like they’re having fun…” he murmured. “These are really good. When Pokémon are happy, I’m happy too.”

“I’m glad,” said Touko. And she was—for some reason, his compliments made her heart feel light. She’d finally found some common ground with him.

As Touko watched him flip through photos, it suddenly occurred to her that she hadn’t emptied her camera roll since she’d gotten it. 

“Oh uh,” she said, “Be careful not to go too far; I haven’t emptied it in a while—!”

N paused, his finger hovering over the button. He stared at the screen for a long time before a question rose from his lips.

“Um…” he said quietly, “When did you take this?”

N turned the camera around so she could see which photo he was referring to. Touko’s stomach sunk: her warning had come too late. He’d found the photo she’d taken of him that day.

“Uh…” Touko couldn’t think of a good excuse, so she decided to just be honest. “It was about a week before we met. I was visiting Accumula and saw you in the park with Purrloin, and I just couldn’t help it… I’m sorry, I really should have asked permission—!”

“It’s alright,” said N. “I don’t mind.”

“I—you don’t?!”

_Any normal person would be pretty creeped out, N!!!_

“Purrloin looks so happy,” N explained. “I guess I do, too… it’s a good picture. So I’m not bothered that you took it.”

“Oh…” Touko was about as relieved as she was confused.

_At least his weirdness is in my favor this time._

“Um, is that Purrloin yours—I mean, one of your friends?” Touko asked. She remembered in the nick of time that N didn’t like Pokéballs, so it was unlikely that he had Purrloin with him.

“Oh, no,” said N. “She lives in Accumula. She told me her human friend lets her wander freely during the day. Isn’t that nice?”

“Yeah…” Touko wasn’t sure if it was nice or not.

“I think that would be my ideal version of the world,” said N. “A world where people and Pokémon can live their own lives, as equals.” 

_Oh, here we go again…_ Touko thought. _Just when I thought we could get by without talking about it…_

“I… want to see things no one can see,” N admitted. “The feelings of Pokémon shut in Pokéballs. The hearts of humans like you, who train Pokémon for fun. A future where Pokémon can live happily, apart from humans…”

“Do you think that would really make them happy?” Touko asked.

“I do,” said N, “Because I’ve heard their voices.”

“So Pokémon _told_ you they’re unhappy with people,” said Touko, trying to hide the skepticism in her voice.

“Pokémon are my friends,” said N. “I don’t like that people shut my friends in Pokéballs, take them far from their homes, and make them fight each other for sport…”

“That’s not—!”

“But what I don’t like most is how powerless I feel,” N cut her off. “I may not be able to solve the equation that changes the world, but… I want to do something for Pokémon. For my friends…”

Touko was completely unsure how to answer him. She hadn’t had many opportunities to deal with this issue before. In quiet Nuvema town there were never protests; there were never people who thought this way. Even when she met N in Accumula town, they’d managed to start and end the topic fairly quickly. Touko didn’t feel like she’d be able to get out of it as easily this time.

“Pokémon are my friends too, N,” she said finally. “We travel together and get stronger together. That’s what Pokémon training is about—!”

“Is that _really_ how it is?” asked N. “How do your Pokémon feel?”

“ _Stop interrupting me_ ,” said Touko sharply. N flinched, and she felt a little bit bad for snapping—but only a little. “I can’t talk to Pokémon, so I don’t really know how they feel, but my Pokémon don’t seem like they’re unhappy.”

“Then let me hear their voices,” said N, more quietly this time.

Touko stared at him.

“Excuse me?”

He’d claimed to be able to hear Oshawott before, but she hadn’t expected him to just ask outright like that.

“Your Pokémon. Show them to me.”

Touko took the three Pokéballs out of her bag and opened them: Lillipup, Blitzle, and Oshawott appeared next to the table in flashes of white light. Blitzle smiled at N cheerily while Lillipup immediately walked over to sniff curiously at his feet. Oshawott recognized N from before and bowed to him respectfully.

Touko wasn’t sure what to make of him, even as she watched him interact with her Pokémon. He picked up Lillipup and put her on his lap, watching her intently with those chilling blue-grey eyes. Despite N’s searching gaze, the Pokémon didn’t seem afraid at all. Perhaps Lillipup was too naive to know what was going on. But soon she curled up in his lap and closed her eyes. Touko couldn’t help wondering: what about him made him so unthreatening to them?

“Touko brings us with her wherever she goes,” said N quietly, as if speaking to no one in particular. “While I miss my home and my friends… I like being with Touko and seeing new places.”

“Huh?” said Touko.

“That is what your Pokémon thinks of you,” said N.

“Really?” asked Touko. “She didn’t even say anything—!”

“But she did,” said N. “Just because you can’t hear it doesn’t mean she didn’t say anything.”

“Oh…”

“Maybe there’s something special about you,” said N. “Special enough that a Pokémon could feel this way for someone who keeps her in a Pokéball…”

N straightened up in his chair, his hand on Lillipup’s head.

“I-I’m sorry…” he said, “I get carried away sometimes. This issue is kinda important to me…”

“I can tell,” said Touko.

“Thanks for letting me talk to them,” said N. “I feel like I understand you a little better now… or maybe I don’t understand anything at all. Actually, I’m not sure how to feel.”

“Well, uh, no problem?” said Touko, holding up Lillipup’s Pokéball. “I’m gonna recall them now—!”

“Oh, I wish you wouldn’t,” said N, a tinge of sadness in his voice. “Don’t make them go away just because I’m not talking to them anymore…”

The look on his face made her heart pinch.

“Okay, okay, I won’t,” Touko conceded. She put their Pokéballs away, and N’s expression brightened a little.

“Um, anyway,” said N, seemingly searching for a way to lighten the mood. “Do you know about the Menger Sponge?”

Touko shook her head.

“Never heard of it.”

“It’s fascinating… It’s a fractal shape that has both infinite surface area and zero volume.”

Math had never really been Touko’s subject in high school. She tried picturing a shape like that with little luck. She wasn’t sure if something like that was even possible, but he made it sound like it must already exist.

“If I’m being honest,” she admitted, “I can’t even begin to imagine what that looks like.”

“Don’t worry, I have one right here.”

N took something off his belt and showed it to her. What she’d thought was a painted Rubik’s cube was actually a wooden block, with a square exactly in its center hollowed out from all sides.

“See?” said N, as if hoping to impress her.

Touko couldn’t see what exactly made it have infinite surface area and zero volume. If it was on the table in front of her, how could it be and not be at the same time? 

“So it’s infinite, and… not? I don’t get it.”

“This is just a Level-1 Menger Sponge,” N explained. “If you keep dividing it into smaller and smaller cubes, and removing the middle cubes from each set, you get new levels that have less volume and more surface area than the ones before them. Theoretically, you could keep doing that forever until you get to infinite surface area and zero volume.”

Touko looked back up at him, eyebrow raised.

“And you’re showing me this because…?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said N. “I just think it’s neat. I thought maybe you would too. You can use a formula to express the Menger Sponge, but that somehow doesn’t ruin the mystery. A figure that’s both everything and nothing at once… you could say it’s kind of like Yin and Yang, right?”

“ _Could_ you say that…?” said Touko. She was about as much of a philosopher as she was a mathematician.

“Pokémon like that lived here once,” said N. “The Yin and Yang Pokémon. They need each other to be complete. I don’t know what happened to them, but I think I’d like to meet them someday. I’d like to be their friend.”

“Uhh, wait,” said Touko, mind whirling. He’d lost her about two subject changes ago. “How does this relate to the sponge thing again?”

“Ah, sorry, I’m just rambling,” N admitted. “Thank you for listening to me. To be honest, this is the longest conversation I’ve ever had with a human.”

“That’s… kinda sad, actually,” said Touko, frowning. “You’ve really never talked to people before?”

“It’s okay. I don’t like people very much anyway,” said N. “Most of the time I’d rather talk to Pokémon. But I’m okay talking to you… I wonder why.”

“Well, wait, what about your parents?” said Touko. She couldn’t quite believe that he’d had so little human interaction before—he couldn’t have been much older than she was. “Or school, or—!?”

“I was taught at home,” said N simply. “My father didn’t like talking to me, and gave me Pokémon to talk to instead. You know adults; they only care about numbers. I got good at numbers so that my father would talk to me, but it didn’t seem to help…”

Seeing the horrified look on Touko’s face, he added, “Maybe I’ve said too much…” 

“No, no, it’s fine,” said Touko. Suddenly, she wanted him to keep talking forever—no wonder he kept apologizing for going on tangents. He’d probably never had another person take interest in what he had to say. “That’s so sad, though… It sounds like you’ve really had it rough.”

“I guess,” said N. “But please don’t worry about me. I’m used to it. I know how to talk to most adults; you just have to be patient with them and talk on their level. If you tell them that you saw a nice little house with a red roof and a white fence and a rose garden, they won’t be able to imagine it. But if you tell them you saw a house worth four million Pokédollars—!”

“They’d say, ‘What a pretty house!’” Touko finished for him. She couldn’t help smiling. “That’s from _The Little Prince,_ right?”

N paused, eyes widening slightly.

“You know that book…?”

“It’s been my favorite ever since I was little,” Touko admitted. “I even used a line from it as my yearbook quote.”

“Oh…” said N. “What a coincidence… that’s my favorite book too.”

“Guess we finally have something in common then, huh?”

“I guess so…” Though his voice was distant, there was a hint of a smile on his lips. “I should probably get going. We’ve talked a long time, and I still have things to do here in Nacrene. Thanks, though… for listening to me.”

N stood up, clipping the Menger Sponge back to his belt. He patted Touko’s Lillipup on the head, and waved goodbye to each of her Pokémon in turn.

“I guess I’ll see you around then?” said Touko. N turned to her, his hair bouncing. He smiled, his teeth showing just slightly, and Touko’s heart swelled in her chest. It was almost as if he was teasing her, beckoning her with how beautiful he looked at that particular moment. Touko was sorely tempted to whip out her camera and capture that moment, knowing full well that it might never come again, and her unease could overtake her admiration… 

“Maybe,” he said. “I’m on a journey right now. It sounds like you are too, so it’s up to chance if we meet again. But… I think I’d like to get to know you better. Maybe we could even be friends.”

“Friends, huh,” said Touko. The way he’d said it chilled her to the bone, but she smiled in spite of herself. “Yeah. I think we could be friends.”

_Why did I say that?! Me and my big mouth!!_

Considering his views on Pokémon training, she wasn’t sure if they actually _could_ be friends. Regardless of what his reasons were, she wondered if she could ever really get along with someone who thought her way of life was wrong.

N nodded to her, pushing up his hat a little.

“See you, er…”

“Touko,” she reminded him.

“I’ll get it eventually,” said N apologetically. “See you, Touko.”

With that, he was off, his green hair bobbing behind him. Touko watched him go until he disappeared around a corner, then turned back to look at her Pokémon. Oshawott, Blitzle, and Lillipup looked at her expectantly.

“What a weird guy, huh?” said Touko. Her Pokémon looked at each other before making their respective noises at her enthusiastically. While normally she would have interpreted this response as agreement, now she had to wonder: were her Pokémon really agreeing with her?

_Ugh, he’s really gotten into my head… I can’t let him get to me like this._

Maybe she couldn’t really know how her Pokémon felt, but she trusted them to know what was right for themselves. Lillipup and Blitzle wouldn’t have approached her for a battle if they didn’t already want to be with humans, right…?

“Rrggh!” Touko put her hands on her head. “Just when I was starting to feel sorry for him, too! What a jerk!!”

“Osha?” Oshawott tilted his head, concern on his face.

“O-oh, it’s nothing!” said Touko quickly. “Sorry to make you guys worry.”

Touko stood up, putting her camera back in her bag before slinging it back over her shoulder.

“We should probably buy a drink or something,” she said to her Pokémon. “We were using this table for a pretty long time… You guys want anything?”

Her Pokémon all made sounds of excitement, seeming to sense that a treat of some kind was coming their way; Lillipup jumped up and down eagerly, while Oshawott and Blitzle smiled up at her. Touko couldn’t help smiling back at them.

_That’s right. I don’t care what N thinks—these guys are my friends._

“Alright, guys. Pick whatever you want. Drinks are on me!”

“Osha!”

“Blizbliz!”

“Arf, arf!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A few comments on changes for this chapter:**  
>  \--I wanted to go into more detail about the photography side of Touko's journey here, since I think I brushed over it originally. This also gave me an excuse to plug some solid artist advice, which is: don't sell yourself short!!! Your art is worth more than you think!! And to buyers: tip generously if you think an artist is selling themselves short!!
> 
> \--Originally, N never knew that Touko had taken that first picture of him. 
> 
> \--The original version of this conversation aged very poorly. N made her very uncomfortable for basically the whole time they talked, and then I'd followed that up with a scene that was hinting at Touko's budding feelings for him? I don't know _what_ I was thinking back then lmao. So, while I did keep a few of N's lines, I tried to make their conversation reveal more about him and make him seem more sympathetic.


	7. Midnight Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko can't sleep.

_Why can’t I stop thinking about him?_

Touko lay in bed that night, Oshawott and Lillipup curled up on the bed next to her, with Blitzle asleep on its feet at the end of the bed. It must have been later than Touko usually cared to be awake, but for some reason she couldn’t keep her eyes closed. She kept running through the conversation with N from that afternoon over and over in her mind, going over every question and answer. She couldn’t get him out of her head: the way he’d held her Pokémon so carefully, the way he went on and on about things that interested him. The hopeful look on his face when he was trying to impress her, and that pleading pout when she wanted to recall her Pokémon… 

He wasn’t bad to look at, at least. Of course, she’d known that since the moment she saw him: from that first look through the camera lens, she’d wondered at how beautiful he looked. Tall, handsome, gentle… He was practically princely, minus the horse and amor. She couldn’t help laughing to herself, knowing that he had turned out to be far more eccentric than he’d appeared. His mannerisms came off as more unsettling than attractive.

_Still…_

It was clear enough that he was lonely. He’d admitted to having no real friends, that his father was neglectful, that he’d been kept out of school… just what kind of life had he led, until now? She could kind of see why he was so weird, if those were the circumstances he was coming from.

Lillipup rolled onto her back, legs waving in the air. Touko smiled at her before returning her gaze to the ceiling.

_Ugh, this is dumb. Why am I losing sleep over this? I don’t even know if we’ll ever cross paths again. I don’t even know how I FEEL about him…_

And yet here she was, already hoping they would meet again soon. 

Touko sighed, running through the events of the afternoon one more time. She’d seen several different sides of him: an intelligent side, an unsettling side, a childlike side—not to mention the fact that he could talk to Pokémon, and seemed to have something against trainers… He was practically a Pandora’s box of personality quirks. A bundle of contradictions. How could he be so smart, but seem so naive? How could he claim to love Pokémon, but hate the friendship they have with trainers?

_You’d think someone like him would make a great trainer. If he really can talk to Pokémon, that’d be a big advantage… at least, I think it would be._

She still wasn’t sure if he’d been telling the truth.

_Why is he even taking a journey if he isn’t a trainer? If he actually tried being a trainer, he might finally understand how stupid he sounds. All that stuff about shutting Pokémon in Pokeballs…_

In Nuvema town, the issue of Pokémon training had always been a no-brainer: people and Pokémon help each other grow. The fact that there were people out there who disliked Pokémon training was always sort of distant to her. She’d heard they existed, but she’d certainly never met one of those people. Her parents had always told her to respect others’ opinions, but now that she was actually confronted with a person of a different opinion… she found it hard not to brainstorm a list of counterpoints to rattle off the next time she saw him.

Part of her didn’t want to see him again, so she wouldn’t have to deal with that discomfort of differing views. But another part of her wanted to see him so badly, it almost left a physical ache in her chest. But why? What would she say to him? Why was she so stuck thinking about him?

Blitzle sneezed, jerking her from her thoughts. The zebra Pokémon opened his eyes groggily; he had sneezed himself awake. He looked at her sleepily over the foot of the bed.

_I wonder if my Pokémon really do… dislike Pokéballs?_

_No, that can’t be. If they did, why would they stay inside them in the first place? Pokémon aren’t stupid. They must know they’re stronger than we are._

“Looks like you’re up too,” said Touko quietly. She patted the side of the bed next to her, “Come on over here, Henry.”

Blitzle nodded appreciatively before plodding over to Touko’s side. It lay down on the floor next to the bed and closed its eyes. Touko smiled and patted it affectionately.

 _N… I respect your opinion and all, but… I wonder what I’d have to do to change your mind, even just a little bit…?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually not part of the original version of this fic; it was added in the 1st revision after I realized that I'd failed to actually show Touko's feelings developing (except for like... the chapter before they get together later in the story lmao) (oops, spoilers). However, this addition actually fixed little: I mentioned before that the previous chapter's interaction left her feeling way more uncomfortable in the original, and so her suddenly pining for him didn't make any sense at all. SO, for this one I tried to make it so that Touko's feelings about him would be (understandably) more complex: she can't shake the parts of him that are unsettling, but she feels some sympathy for him, and she's still unquestionably attracted to him physically.


	8. Trouble in Pinwheel Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a few days in Nacrene city, Touko ventures west to Pinwheel Forest. There, she finds that Team Plasma is back to making trouble—and that another young trainer has been caught in the middle of it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been writing ahead a lot and I'm hoping to finally get over the battle I'm currently struggling with in the chapter after this one, so here's another chapter for yall!

_Touko spent a few more days in Nacrene, practicing her photography with a steady clientele of trainers passing through. She even got to work with the city’s gym leader, who appreciated Touko’s keen eye for composition and commissioned a few Pokémon portraits to hang in the gym. Before too long, though, Touko started to feel the tug of the open road. On the morning of the fifth day, she set out for Pinwheel Forest—toward Unova’s hub of commerce and trade, Castelia City._

To the west of Nacrene stretched Pinwheel Forest: a shady glen that made way for denser woods the further one got from the city. Touko had loitered at the outskirts of the forest the previous day, hoping to catch trainers out with their Pokémon for a photo op. Today, though, she headed down the paved road, carrying Oshawott in her arms and hoping not to run into wild Pokémon. The nurse at the Pokémon Center had estimated that the walk to Castelia could take the better part of a day, and Touko wanted to get to the city quickly so she get in some sightseeing before it got too late.

Besides… she had the feeling she’d find a few scenic spots for photos on the way.

As the path ahead darkened with trees, Touko noticed that a pair of people and a Pokémon had stopped by the side of the road. One of them was a police officer; her tan uniform recognizable from a mile away. At her side was a Herdier, sitting at attention. The other person was a boy in a blue jacket and red hat. As Touko approached, snippets of the conversation reached her ears.

“And these people were wearing blue and white uniforms? With hoods?”

“Yeah, that’s right…”

Touko stopped walking; that description sounded all too familiar… 

“Alright. That sounds like the uniform Team Plasma wears,” the officer continued, jotting notes on a little pad.

“Yeah! That’s who they said they were,” said the boy. “Sorry, it all happened so fast, I forgot…”

“It’s not your fault. Let me know if you remember anything else.”

The boy in the hat noticed Touko standing there and leaned over to look at her, frowning. The police officer turned around to see what he was looking at.

“Need something, miss?” she asked.

“Oh, sorry!” said Touko. “I couldn’t help overhearing… did Team Plasma show up again?”

“Well…” The officer paused, seemingly conflicted about whether to say more. Finally she added, “I guess if you already overheard, there’s no point in hiding it. This poor kid’s Pokémon was stolen not too long ago. Sounds like Team Plasma was behind it—they’ve been making trouble around here recently.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Touko. “It seems like they’re popping everywhere.”

“If you’re heading into the forest, you should be careful,” said the police officer, aiming her comment at Touko. “Keep your Pokéballs in secure pockets, and make sure to wear your bag strap over your chest.”

“Got it,” said Touko.

“In the meantime,” the officer continued, turning back to the boy. “We’ll do whatever we can to get your Pokémon back. I’ll file a police report, see if we can’t get some more boots on the ground out here to look for them. At the very least, we should make sure the exits are covered—the only viable way in or out of the forest is the main road.”

“But the longer we wait…” The boy frowned.

“I could help look,” Touko offered. “I’ve dealt with Team Plasma before.”

“Are you sure?” asked the officer.

“Yeah,” Touko flexed one arm, keeping Oshawott steady with the other. “Team Plasma’s nothing. Me and my Pokémon can take ‘em.”

“Osha!” said Oshawott, flashing the others a confident smile.

“Well, alright,” said the officer. “I can’t stop you from trying, but… be careful, alright?”

“Can I come with?” the boy asked. “I’m really worried about my Pokémon…”

“I wouldn’t,” said the officer. “That was your only Pokémon, right? It’s dangerous to go off the paved road in Pinwheel Forest without a Pokémon to protect you. Especially if you’re going up against Team Plasma.”

“I’ve got three,” said Touko. “You can borrow one of mine if you want!”

“Really?” The boy’s face lit up. “I’d really appreciate it!”

“Well…” the officer sighed as she slipped her notebook and pen back into her pocket. “I guess I can’t stop you, but be careful out there.”

“We will!”

As the officer turned and headed back toward Nacrene with her Pokémon in tow, the boy walked up to Touko, holding his hand out.

“Thank you so much for offering to help me,” he said. “I’m Touya, and you’re…?”

“Touko.” The two of them shook hands. “That’s weird, we almost have the same name.”

“Huh… yeah, that is weird.”

Touko reached into her bag for Blitzle’s Pokéball.

“Here, you can borrow Henry for now,” she said, holding it out to him. “He’s my Blitzle.”

Touya took the Pokéball gratefully.

“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll catch another Pokémon while we’re in there so I can give him back right away.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Touko, shrugging. “Borrow him for as long as you need. Come on, let’s get going.”

“Right.”

The two of them set off, following the paved road deeper into the forest. After a short time they reached a fork in the road: straight ahead lay a worn dirt path into denser woods and taller grass. To the right, the paved road continued north, keeping the way clear for trainers and travelers looking to avoid wild Pokémon. Touko and Touya shared a nod, steeling their resolve, before taking a step off the paved road.

The air was cooler in this part of the forest; the summer sun barely filtering through the branches. Though it seemed quiet at first glance, the dense foliage teemed with movement and sound: breezes shuffled the leaves, insects buzzed from plant to plant, and every so often there came the rustle of Pokémon moving around in the underbrush. Pokémon called to each other from the trees, their voices echoing.

“So, uh,” Touko offered; the chill, humid air and unnerving sounds were making her hair stand on end, and she was eager for something to break up the tension, “What Pokémon was it that they took? I mean—what kind of Pokémon do you have?”

“Oh, it was a Tepig,” Touya answered. “I only just got it from Professor Juniper like last week…”

“Wait, really?” said Touko. “I just got _my_ first Pokémon from her last week too.”

“Oh, weird,” said Touya. “Wait, does this mean…?”

“Mean what?”

“There was supposed to be another trainer getting a Pokémon the same day I did, but they never showed…”

“Oh… yeah…” Touko grimaced. “Thaaat was probably me… my alarm didn’t go off, and I overslept…”

“Huh. Small world that we ran into each other then, huh.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Touko kept her head on a swivel, scanning for signs of Team Plasma—but all she could see was forest and moss wherever she looked. “I’m surprised you only just started, though. You look a little old to be a newbie.”

“I could say the same to you,” Touya shot back playfully. “You got a good excuse for starting so late?” 

“Parents wanted me to finish high school first.” Touko tried not to let the lingering bitterness show in her voice.

“Ah, yeah. That’s valid.”

“What about you?”

“Er, well,” Touya looked away, running his fingers through the hair on the back of his head. “I actually wasn’t planning on becoming a trainer, but uh… stuff’s been pretty rough at home, and a Pokémon journey sounded like a good excuse as any to get out of there.”

“Oh…”

“But!” Touya scrambled to steer the conversation back toward something lighter. “Now that I’m a trainer, I’m actually looking forward to winning more badges and stuff. I’m not in any rush, but I’d like to see how far I can get, y’know?”

“Yeah,” Touko nodded. “I’m not really in it for the badges myself.”

“You’re not?”

“Nah,” said Touko. “I’m a Pokémon photographer, so my goal is to get out there and take as many Pokémon pictures as I can. One day, I want my work to be known around the world.”

“I getcha. And badges don’t really factor into that plan, huh.”

“Not really.”

“That’s cool, though,” said Touya. “There’s so much focus on winning badges and getting stronger; it’s kind of neat to meet someone who’s got different goals as a trainer.”

“Y’know, I hear that a lot—!”

The loud sound of a branch snapping cut Touko off mid-sentence. The two trainers tensed, looking toward the source of the noise. The bushes rustled, and a humanoid Pokémon with blue skin stepped out from between the branches. It eyed the trainers cautiously before tilting its head downward and raising its hands in a fighting stance.

“Looks like it wants a fight…” said Touya, nervously. “Should we try to run?”

“I dunno, it looks like a fast runner,” said Touko. She took out her Pokédex and flipped it open. “I’ve never seen one of those before.”

Touko’s Pokédex emitted a few brief beeps before loading the Pokémon’s information.

_“Sawk. Karate Pokémon. Type: Fighting. Tying their belts gets them pumped and makes their punches more destructive. Desiring the strongest karate chop, they seclude themselves in mountains and train without sleeping. Disturbing their training angers them.”_

“Yikes, sounds like someone we don’t want to mess with…” Touya took a step back.

“We’re, uh—! Just passing through!” said Touko, putting her free hand up so Sawk could see it. “We’re not looking for a fight! Definitely not trying to disturb your training or anything!”

Sawk let out a low grunt and took a step forward. It indicated with its chin that it was waiting for Touko to send her Pokémon to fight against it.

“Ulp, I don’t think it’s gonna let us run…” Touya grimaced.

“Well, fine!” Touko set Oshawott down on the ground. “Masamune, show ‘em what’s what!”

“Osha!” Oshawott took a few brave steps forward, puffing himself up as much as he could to seem more intimidating. Sawk was still taller than him by a good couple of feet.

“Alright, Masamune, let’s start with Focus Energy!” said Touko, remembering back to what she’d learned in school. Starting a battle with a buffing move could even the playing field against foes she wasn’t sure she could beat. Oshawott took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, focusing his power for his next attack. In response, Sawk mirrored Oshawott’s motion with a Focus Energy of its own, breathing deeply and moving its arms to another position. The fighting Pokémon rocked a little bit on its heels, as if inviting Oshawott to attack.

“Hmm, okay,” said Touko. Her plan had ended up wasting a turn; after one turn her Pokémon and Sawk were relatively at about the same place they’d started. “Fighting Pokémon are best at physical moves, right? So all we have to do is to keep it from hitting us! Masamune, use Water Gun to keep it away!”

“Osha!”

Sawk, though, moved more quickly than Touko anticipated: the Pokémon leaped forward with a low, sweeping kick, knocking Oshawott off his feet. The otter Pokémon hastily recovered before shooting off his Water Gun attack, and Sawk threw up its arms to shield its face from the spray. The Water Gun managed to put some distance between the two Pokémon, but Touko knew that Sawk would be able to close it again in an instant.

“It’s faster than it looks,” Touya commented.

“Yeah, I can see that,” said Touko. She grit her teeth. “Uhh—okay Masamune, just keep using Water Gun! If we can keep it back, we might have a chance!” 

“Osha osha!”

Oshawott readied his attack, but once again Sawk’s superior speed won out; the fighting Pokémon delivered a series of kicks that sent the otter Pokémon sailing into the air. Oshawott was quick to recover, though, and managed to fire off another Water Gun before hitting the ground on his feet.

“Ouch, that must’ve been Double Kick…” said Touya, grimacing. “Do you need me to send out Blitzle?”

“I think we can handle it,” said Touko, though she wasn’t entirely certain herself. Much as she would’ve liked to have Blitzle’s Thunder Wave to slow Sawk down, she also wanted Touya to preserve the Pokémon’s strength in case they ran into Team Plasma. She hoped Masamune would be able to hold out; her only other Pokémon was weak to fighting-types and likely wouldn’t last long against Sawk.

Sawk struck again, aiming for another Low Sweep—and this time Oshawott managed to read his opponent’s move and dodge just in time. It was a lucky break, but Touko knew her Pokémon wasn’t very nimble. They probably wouldn’t get very many chances to avoid a hit.

_Wait a minute. The Pokédex said that Sawk are aiming to perfect their karate chop, but Sawk hasn’t used Karate Chop at all yet… maybe it only knows kicking moves right now? If that’s true, then—!_

“Masamune, use Tackle! Get in close and aim for its legs!”

“Osha!” 

Oshawott dove forward, aiming for Sawk’s legs—and at the same time, the fighting Pokémon moved to get in a Low Sweep. The two Pokémon collided at high speed, sending up a cloud of leaves and dust that temporarily obscured the field. Touko let out a cry of surprise, throwing up her hands to keep debris from hitting her in the face.

“That didn’t look good…” said Touya. “I hope Oshawott’s okay.”

The dust began to settle, and Touko braced for the worst… but as the field cleared, she saw that Oshawott and Sawk were caught in a fierce deadlock. Oshawott had blocked Sawk’s attack with the shell from his chest, and was holding the bigger Pokémon back with all his might.

“Whoa!” Touya couldn’t contain his surprise.

“I knew you could do it, Masamune!” Touko cheered, pumping her fist. “Now let’s drive ‘em back!!”

“Osha!!!”

As Oshawott’s cry echoed through the trees, his body began to glow with a bright light. The two trainers looked on in awe as the little Pokémon changed before their eyes: he grew about a foot in height, and whiskers sprouted from his cheeks. When the light faded, an entirely different Pokémon stood before them.

“De!” the new Pokémon growled, fanning the shell in his paws to show that it had multiplied into two. With a shell in each paw, the new Pokémon swung forward with an x-shaped slash. Shocked by its opponent’s sudden power boost, Sawk was knocked backwards and smashed into the trunk of a tree some feet away.

Touko whipped out her Pokédex to identify the Pokémon that Oshawott had evolved into.

_“Dewott. Discipline Pokémon. Type: Water. Strict training is how it learns its flowing double-scalchop technique for its Razor Shell move. These techniques differ from one Dewott to another. It never neglects maintaining its scalchops.”_

“So _that’s_ what those Pokémon are called,” said Touko. She’d seen a few of them before, at the sides of more experienced trainers in Striaton and Nacrene, but had never learned their name until now. “Masamune, you look _awesome!”_

“Dewott de!” Dewott responded, turning back to look at his trainer proudly.

Meanwhile, Sawk had managed to recover from Dewott’s surprise attack. It got back to its feet and brushed the dirt off its robe-like arms. Then it walked forward and took another fighting stance, holding out a horizontal palm. Using just its fingers, it beckoned Dewott to engage it with another attack.

“Alright, Masamune, let’s see how you do with that new move!” said Touko. “Use Razor Shell!”

“Deeeeeeewott!”

Hoping to get a hit in first, Sawk responded by leaping forward for another Low Sweep—but Dewott’s evolution had granted it a much-needed speed boost. The otter Pokémon leaped upward, scalchops in hand, and was able to avoid Sawk’s attack with seconds to spare. Dewott arced over his opponent and landed nimbly behind it, then struck the back of Sawk’s knees with his scalchops in a swift, curved slash. The fighting Pokémon let out a cry of surprise; its knees buckled and it fell backwards to the ground. Dewott leaped back to Touko’s side of the field, hooking his scalchops on the fur tufts at his waist.

“Nice job, Masamune!” said Touko. “Now, let’s finish this battle with—!”

But before Touko could name an attack, she saw that her opponent was holding up its hands in defeat.

“Oh…” Touko let out a sigh. “That works too, I guess. Whew. Good fight, everybody.”

“Dewott de!” said Dewott proudly, crossing his arms.

“That’s it?!” Touya blurted. “Touko, you were one attack from winning!”

“Yeah, but he surrendered,” said Touko, shrugging. “I’d be a real jerk if I kept attacking after that.”

“I guess…”

Touko walked up to Sawk, holding her hand out it.

“Great fight out there,” she said, smiling. “Sorry if we interrupted your training…”

Sawk looked cautiously at her hand, then closed its eyes, smiling to itself. It took Touko’s hand and allowed her to help it get back on its feet. The Pokémon staggered a little, its knees still smarting from Dewott’s attack, but otherwise it seemed alright.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but… do you actually _know_ any chopping moves?” Touko asked, miming a karate chop with her hands. 

Sawk bashfully shook its head.

“Ah…” said Touko. “Well, you fought pretty well with just your feet. What do you think about joining up with us?” Touko took a Pokéball from her bag. “I could help you train and get stronger if you want. But before that, we have to deal with Team Plasma.”

Sawk tilted its head, and Touko explained:

“Team Plasma—they’re people who use Pokémon to do bad things. They took my friend’s Pokémon away, and we’re trying to get it back.”

Touko wasn’t sure if Sawk had understood everything she’d said, but the Pokémon nodded; it seemed to have gotten the jist. It tapped its fist into its open palm before bowing to her respectfully, as if to acknowledge her capability as a trainer.

“Alright then.” Touko grinned and lightly tossed the Pokéball at Sawk. “Welcome to the team!”

Sawk flinched a little as the Pokéball made contact; with a flash of light the Pokémon disappeared into the open ball. The Pokéball fell to the ground, wobbling as the Pokémon inside got itself settled, then clicked as the warning light went off.

“I wonder what I should name you…?” Touko mused to herself as she went to take the ball off the ground.

“Don’t we have other things to be worrying about?” said Touya. “We spent a long time on that battle, and now Team Plasma’s probably…”

“Right, right,” said Touko. “Then I’ll, uhhh…. I’ll name it Bert!”

_“Bert?”_ Touya snorted.

“Doesn’t it kind of look like a Bert?”

“Come on, Touko. Let’s keep looking for those Plasma goons.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Touko went to pick up her new Dewott, but realized he was now too big to comfortably carry in her arms. “Er, sorry, Masamune, but it looks like you’re going to have to walk from now on…”

“Dewott de!” 

Seemingly unbothered by this, Dewott walked over to take his place at Touko’s side. It had been a close fight with Sawk, but Dewott seemed invigorated by its new form and abilities, and had no trouble keeping up with the trainers as they ventured deeper into the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the start of a section that is... actually new to this edition of the fic! In the original I'd brushed over Touko meeting Touya and catching her Sawk (and in the original, Touya had only watched Touko deal with Team Plasma from afar; he wasn't directly involved... and then decided to travel with her for some reason? idk what I was thinking back then). 
> 
> Anyway, I decided to expand that out so that everyone involved would have a more clear introduction. (And also, so I could introduce another character much earlier... stay tuned!)


	9. Plasma's Dark Knight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko and Touya manage to catch up to Team Plasma in the woods, but Team Plasma won't be giving back the stolen Pokemon so easily...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, everyone! I got stuck writing the battle for this chapter, then skipped ahead to write other stuff, and then had a huge backlog of stuff I couldn't post because I was still stuck on this chapter.... it was a bad look. But! I finally sat myself down and got through it, so i'm just gonna throw it up here and move on. merry crisis

Progress through the forest slowed as the greenery around them grew into nearly impassable thickets. Rocky hills and fallen logs also impeded their progress, and before long the trainers began to wonder if Team Plasma really could have come this way. The wild Pokémon here, by turns, were far more territorial than they’d been at the edge of the paved road: Pidove dove at the trainers’ heads to defend their nests, and bug Pokémon shot webs and barbs to drive intruders away from their hidden burrows. The abundance of Pokémon proved a good thing, however: Touya was able to use Touko’s Blitzle to help him capture a Pidove and a Tympole that he could use against Team Plasma.

“I thought having more than one Pokémon would be too much work,” Touya admitted as they hiked into an enormous, hollowed-out tree trunk. “But watching you with all your Pokémon, I’m thinking maybe it’s not so bad…”

“Yeah, it’s actually pretty easy,” said Touko. “Pokéballs make caring for multiple Pokémon a snap.”

“They’re so handy,” said Touya. “I can’t see what Team Plasma thinks is so bad about them.”

For a moment, Touko remembered N’s sullen voice: 

_“I just can’t help wondering… are Pokémon really happy inside Pokéballs?”_

She was quick to chase the thought from her head, though. 

“Who knows?” she responded with a shrug. “Considering how many Pokémon they’ve been stealing from trainers, I wonder whether they actually _do_ care about Pokémon’s feelings.”

“Yeah, me too…” Touya looked away, frowning. “I don’t care _what_ they think about Pokéballs. Guilting people into releasing their Pokémon and stealing from the people who won’t… none of that is okay. I can’t forgive anyone who agrees with Team Plasma.” 

“Did they try to get you to release Tepig?” Touko asked.

“Oh, yeah; they were really persistent, too. When I wouldn’t do it, they just took him…”

“That’s awful.” Touko clenched her fists, then looked at her friend resolutely. “We’ll get Tepig back. I promise.”

“I hope so…” Touya gripped the strap of his shoulder bag uneasily.

As the two of them finally neared the base of the tree, Touko caught the sound of voices nearby. She stopped, motioning for Touya to do the same.

“Only _three?!_ That’s it?!” One of the voices was female, shrill: a girl around Touko and Touya’s age. “Lady Nouhime isn’t going to be happy with this…”

“Well, who would have thought there wouldn’t be any trainers in the dark, scary, _dangerous_ part of the woods?!” a male voice retorted, perhaps a little older. “I told you we should’ve stuck to the main road. We’ll never make quota at this rate…”

The two trainers cautiously peered around the edge of the log. Just beyond the log exit was a small clearing, and in the middle of the clearing stood two Team Plasma grunts. One, the boy, held a sack that looked mostly empty.

“That’s them!” Touya hissed. “They’re the ones who stole Tepig!”

Touya made to dash out from their hiding place, but Touko grabbed his arm to hold him back.

“Are you crazy?!” she hissed back. “We can’t just run out there!”

“Why not? They’re gonna get away if we don’t jump on ‘em!” Touya wrenched his arm away and reached for Tympole’s Pokéball.

“It could be dangerous—!”

“Hey, what was that?!” One of the grunts stood at attention and looked around. “Did you hear that?”

The two trainers froze.

“It sounded like it was coming from that big log…” the male grunt commented.

“Is someone there?” the female grunt called out. “Or are you just a Pokémon?” 

“Uhh… Pika, pika?” Touya answered, completely unconvincingly.

“I knew it! I knew I heard someone talking!” shouted the male grunt. “Show yourselves, right now!”

Touya wrenched his arm out of Touko’s grip and leaped out of the log, his Tympole’s Pokéball in hand. Touko supposed she had no choice but to follow, Masamune at her side.

“We’re here to take back Tepig!” Touya shouted. “Now give him back, or—or I’ll have no choice but to fight you!”

“You—you’re the boy from earlier!” said the female grunt. “Sorry, no returns or exchanges!”

“That’s Team Plasma policy!” sneered the male grunt. “In fact, since you’ve been so kind as to bring us more Pokémon—we might be making our quota after all!” 

“Yeah, not happening,” said Touko. She reached for Sawk’s Pokéball; earlier she’d used a potion to help get him back in shape to fight if needed. “I’m taking those Pokémon back—I don’t care whose they are!”

Touko and Touya took a step toward the grunts, but instead of rising to the challenge, the two Plasma members shrunk back.

“What’s wrong?” asked Touko. “Gettin’ cold feet all the sudden?”

“Yeah, aren’t you gonna try to battle us?” asked Touya.

The two grunts shared a nervous glance.

“We…” said the woman. “We’re not trainers. It would be against our beliefs as Team Plasma to keep Pokémon of our own, so…”

“That hasn’t seemed to stop the other grunts,” said Touya, folding his arms.

“Well…” said the man, fidgeting. “Others might be able to rationalize using Pokémon with the intent of freeing them later, but…”

“Whatever, I don’t care,” said Touya. “Stealing Pokémon from others isn’t okay. I don’t care what kind of lofty goals you have. Give me Tepig back or else.”

“Hey, Touya, cool it a little—!” Touko interjected; her friend’s tone was starting to worry her.

“Or else? Or else what? Are you gonna force your Pokémon to hurt us?” said the female grunt, frowning. “I knew trainers were bad, but I had no idea how cruel they really are.”

_“God_ you guys are insufferable,” Touko sighed in exasperation, clenching her fists. “Can’t you just give my friend his Pokémon back? We’ll even let you go, no questions asked.”

“We will?”

Touko elbowed Touya in the ribs.

“Ow! Touko, wh—!”

“Nobody said anything about using Pokémon to hurt you.” Touko talked over Touya’s protests, addressing the grunts instead. “But I took karate in high school, and I’m not afraid to use it if I have to. Please give my friend his Pokémon back.”

Touko had not, in fact, taken karate in high school, but the grunts didn’t know that. She hoped the threat of it would be enough to get the grunts to fold. Her hope was short-lived.

“We’ll never give in!” the female grunt spat back. “This Pokémon deserves better than violent trainers like you! You make me sick!”

“You make ME sick!” Touya roared back. “Taking Pokémon from the people who care about them is just _wrong!_ I’ll—!”

_“Who dares harass my knights?!”_

Everyone in the clearing jumped as a new voice rang out between the trees. The sound of gravel crunching underfoot followed, along with an unidentifiable clinking in time with the footsteps. Finally, a figure emerged at the clearing’s exit: a tall woman in similar dress to the grunts, though with a purple sash over her tunic. On one shoulder sat a pauldron in the shape of a dragon’s wing, and tied at her waist was what appeared to be a rapier in a violet sheath. Her raven-colored hair reached the back of her knees.

Touko and Touya could only stare at the newcomer: she was no doubt some kind of higher-up in Team Plasma, but she couldn’t have been much older than they were.

“I am Team Plasma’s dark knight: Nouhime!” the newcomer barked. “I ask again: who dares harass my knights?!”

For a while there was only stunned silence, but then the male grunt piped up:

“Lady Nouhime! Those two trainers were threatening us!”

“That’s right!” the female grunt added. “They’re trying to take back the Pokémon we so kindly liberated—!”

“Oh, _baloney!”_ Touya shouted. _“You_ were the ones who stole my Pokémon in the first place! Now give him back!”

“Unfortunately, that is the one thing we cannot do,” Nouhime answered, turning her sharp gaze on Touya. “In order to make our king’s ideals a reality, we desire the liberation of Pokémon everywhere. And that means taking them from the trainers who imprison them!”

Nouhime took a Pokéball from her belt.

“If you intend to stand in our way, then you will be shown no mercy.”

Touko and Touya bristled, their hands darting to their bags. If this dark knight was also a trainer, then a Pokémon battle was inevitable.

“So you’re one of those hypocrites who uses Pokémon even when you think Pokémon training is wrong,” Touya jeered.

“Hypocritical it may be, but it can also be said that expedient means are sometimes necessary for worthy ends,” said Nouhime. “If it means that my king will never need to touch the Pokéballs he so abhors, then I will train any number of Pokémon in his stead.”

“Your king… you mean your boss?” Touko tilted her head. “Did you all take a wrong turn at the renaissance fair or something? What kind of organization _are_ you guys?”

“We are warriors of justice—nothing more, nothing less!” Nouhime announced, ignoring Touko’s jab. “Wherever Pokémon cry out for help, Team Plasma will be there to bring them to freedom! To the wicked, we are harbingers of reckoning to come; but to the pure of heart, we are the knights of salv—!”

“Alright, alright, enough monologuing!” Touko shouted, cutting her off. “If you’re gonna battle us, bring it on already!”

“V-very well!” Nouhime fumbled, pretending that Touko’s interruption hadn’t thrown off her groove. “Woobat, the fight is yours!”

Nouhime tossed the Pokéball in her hand, and it opened in midair. A round, fuzzy Pokémon with batlike wings appeared in a flash of white light. Though its eyes weren’t visible, it had a big nose and a goofy smile. Touko had fought against one before; they weren’t an uncommon sight around Nacrene and Striaton.

“Alright, then I’ll go with Masamune!”

Touko threw her partner’s Pokéball high in the air, and in a flash of light her Dewott took the field opposite Woobat. He put his paws over the handles of his scalchops, ready to move at a moment’s notice. Touko knew her Blitzle would have offered more of an advantage against the flying-type Woobat, but some part of her wanted to demonstrate the bond she shared with her first Pokémon—something Team Plasma could never understand. 

“Alright, Masamune, use Razor Shell!”

“Woobat, Heart Stamp!”

Woobat moved first, flapping its tiny wings to move forward at a surprising speed. It lunged at Dewott, its heart-shaped nose glowing pink—but Dewott threw up his scalchops just in time, blocking the attack before throwing his opponent back. Woobat spiraled helplessly through the air before managing to right itself.

“Tch.” Nouhime clicked her tongue. “If a direct attack won’t work, then—Woobat, try Confusion!”

“Masamune, hit it with Water Gun!”

Woobat began to glow pink with psychic energy, and fired off a weak telekinetic attack. Dewott took the hit head-on this time, growling and holding his head in discomfort—but he was quick to shake it off, and fired back with a burst of water from his mouth. Woobat tried to flit out of the way, but it wasn’t quick enough to avoid the attack and ended up drenched. The bat Pokémon’s fluffy fur immediately went limp, giving it the disheveled appearance of a periwinkle hairball.

“Rrgh, come on, Woobat, pull it together!” said Nouhime through grit teeth. “Confusion, now!”

“Masamune, Razor Shell!”

Woobat shook off its wet fur before glowing again, launching another telekinetic attack. Dewott toughed it out with a growl, then let out a cry as he leaped forward, scalchops in paw. He slashed at Woobat with enough power to knock it out of the air, and the bat Pokémon hit the ground with a damp _thud_. 

“Woobat!” Nouhime cried. “Get up! The fight’s not over yet!”

Woobat struggled a little bit, weakly flapping its wings, but it was already clear which Pokémon had had more experience in battle. Woobat gave up with a sigh, its wings drooping.

“I had expected you to put up a better defense,” said Nouhime, recalling her Pokémon. “But you did your best, Woobat… thank you.”

“Dewott de!” Dewott said, holding out a scalchop as if taunting his opponent.

“Come on back, Masamune,” said Touko. “Let’s see what she sends out next.”

Dewott reluctantly returned to Touko’s side, arms folded.

“I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this…” said Nouhime quietly, “But you’ve forced me to send my favorite Pokémon into battle, and for that, I won’t forgive you! Purrloin, it’s your turn!”

Nouhime threw another Pokéball, and it opened with a flash. From it came a purple cat Pokémon like the one Touko had photographed in Accumula. It landed gracefully in the grass and sat down, nonchalantly licking its front paws.

“Purrloin’s a dark type, right?” said Touko. “That means Sawk’s the better choice here. Alright, Bert, you’re up!”

Touko threw her new Sawk’s Pokéball, and the karate Pokémon took the field. He raised his hands up in a fighting stance, bracing for whatever his opponent had in store.

“Bert, hit it with Double Kick!”

“Purrloin, use Pursuit!”

Sawk sprung into action to answer Touko’s command, but Purrloin simply looked back at Nouhime and scoffed before turning away. Sawk’s attack hit it head-on, throwing it across the clearing in a single kick. Nouhime jumped.

“Purrloin, not again!” she cried.

Purrloin struggled back to its feet, but it didn’t rejoin its trainer. Instead, it set about grooming the dirt and grass out of its fur.

“Come on, Purrloin, stay focused!” said Nouhime. “Use Pursuit!”

“Bert, use Low Sweep!”

Even as she gave her command, Touko got a sinking feeling in her stomach about where this was going. Sawk moved first again, going in for a low kick—but this time Purrloin was able to leap out of the way in the nick of time. Purrloin decided not to follow its trainer’s orders, and instead kicked up dirt in a Sand Attack. Sawk threw up his arms to shield himself. 

“Purrloin…!” Nouhime groaned in frustration. “Why are you still not listening to me? After all this time…!”

“For her favorite Pokémon, it doesn’t seem to like her very much,” Touya commented.

“Yeah…” Touko agreed, frowning. “I wonder…”

“Purrloin, use Fury Swipes!”

“Bert, Low Sweep!”

Sawk leaped forward, aiming at Purrloin’s feet, and this time Purrloin did manage to fight back with the attack its trainer picked. However, its counterattack wasn’t very strong, and Sawk’s Low Sweep sent the cat Pokémon flying again.

_It’s like it’s not even trying to put up a fight…_

“I don’t like this,” said Touko. “Bert, come back. We’re withdrawing from the fight.”

Sawk looked back at his trainer in confusion, but reluctantly walked back over to her.

“So you’re giving in?” said Nouhime. 

“Of course not,” said Touko, balling her fists, “But it’s obvious where this fight is going. If it was just a difference in skill that’d be one thing, but I don’t think your Pokémon even _wants_ to battle. I wouldn’t feel good about winning against a Pokémon that isn’t fighting back.”

“Tch,” Nouhime spat. “So you’re taking pity on me? Thanks, but I don’t need pity from someone who makes Pokémon fight for fun.”

“Tall words from someone forcing a _stolen Pokémon_ to fight,” Touko shot back.

All eyes fell on Purrloin. It had recovered, slightly, from Sawk’s last attack, but it still looked as though it was struggling to stay standing.

“How can you tell it was stolen?” asked Touya.

“Most Pokémon you catch yourself will at least give you the benefit of the doubt,” said Touko. “But Pokémon caught by other people usually won’t trust new trainers until they demonstrate some skill, like by winning badges. That’s what they told me in school, anyway.”

Nouhime grit her teeth, her hands shaking at her sides.

“So what if it was stolen?” she retorted. “You expect me to just catch my own Pokémon? To add to the number of Pokémon being imprisoned? If I use Pokémon caught by someone else, at least I’m not locking any more away!”

“You think using it as a tool for Team Plasma is any better?!” Touya yelled back.

“I do,” Nouhime responded resolutely. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “No matter. It’s clear that neither battling you nor trying to argue with you will be productive uses of our time. There’s no chance of either of us changing our minds.”

Nouhime recalled Purrloin before turning to the grunts, who had been watching this all unfold from the edge of the clearing.

“Which Pokémon did you take from him?” she asked. “Return it.”

“L-Lady Nouhime!?” the male grunt responded in shock. “You’re just going to give it back!?”

“That trainer chose to withdraw from a match where she had an unfair advantage,” said Nouhime simply. “As a knight, it’s only fair to answer that act of mercy.” 

_Wasn’t it only two minutes ago that you were saying you don’t need my pity?_ Touko thought to herself, but she didn’t voice that thought aloud. Nouhime was finally willing to return Touya’s Pokémon, so she’d have to resist antagonizing her further.

The male grunt fumbled around in the bag before taking out a Pokéball. This he tossed to Touya, who caught it. Touya let the Pokéball open, and a small, pig-like Pokémon appeared at his feet. It shook itself off before looking up at him and smiling.

“Yep, that’s my Tepig,” said Touya, returning his Pokémon’s smile. He recalled it before looking back toward Team Plasma, all the warmth gone from his expression.

“Knights, let us take our leave,” said Nouhime. The two grunts immediately stood at attention, while Nouhime turned back toward Touko and Touya. “We will retreat quietly this time, but know this: Team Plasma is already in operation all across Unova. A time will come when all Pokémon will be free, even yours.”

“We’ll see about that,” said Touko.

“Never forget: your strength comes from your Pokémon,” Nouhime continued. “Without them, you are nothing.”

With that, Nouhime turned on her heel and walked briskly away. The two grunts scrambled to follow, falling in line behind her. Touya stepped forward to go after them, but Touko put an arm out to hold him back.

“We should probably just let them go,” she said. “We got what we wanted already, so…”

“I know, but…” Touya turned away, fuming. “I’m just supposed to let them go back to taking Pokémon away from people?” 

“We can’t do anything about it right now, though,” said Touko, much as she wished it were otherwise.

“I guess…” said Touya. “Ugh. I can’t understand Team Plasma at all. If they were just taking Pokémon away from trainers who abuse them, that’d be one thing. But they seem like they want to take Pokémon away from _everyone_ … that’s what I don’t get.”

“Yeah,” Touko turned to Sawk, who nodded resolutely back at her. “I don’t know what their deal is, but I hope someone stops them before we find out what they’re really after.”

“Yeah, same…” Touya agreed. “Um… thanks for helping me get Tepig back, Touko. And for letting me borrow Blitzle. I couldn’t have done it without you—well, you did all the work, but…”

Touko laughed.

“No problem,” she said. “I’m just glad Tepig’s safe. What are you going to do now, Touya?”

“I want to go back to Nacrene city to heal up,” said Touya. “After that, I’ll probably head to Castelia city for my next badge. Not a whole lot else to do on the Nacrene side of the forest, after all…”

“I was heading toward Castelia too,” said Touko.

“In that case—why don’t we go together?” Touya suggested, then immediately added, “If that’s okay, anyway. You seem cool, so…” 

“Fine by me,” said Touko, grinning. “It’ll be nice to have someone to talk to who isn’t a Pokémon.”

Touya’s expression brightened, and he beamed back at her.

“Great! Oh, we should probably let that police lady know we found my Pokémon…” 

“Right, they're probably still looking for it.”

The two trainers headed back toward the main road, following the path they’d taken through the forest and chatting all the way. Despite the lighthearted conversation, Touko still felt a pang of unease: her confrontation with that Dark Knight character had left a bad taste in her mouth. It was more clear than ever that Team Plasma actually cared little for the Pokémon they were purporting to save, even if people like Nouhime seemed to truly believe they were doing the right thing. But if “saving” Pokémon was just a front… what did Team Plasma actually plan to do with all the Pokémon they were stealing?

Touko wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A character design for Nouhime can be found [here](https://jewish-anime.tumblr.com/post/189623646377/figured-id-draw-an-updated-illust-of-an-older)! I decided to update her old design with some embellishments (originally she was just wearing the TP uniform).
> 
> In the original version of this story, Nouhime wasn't introduced until much later in the story despite her role as an additional rival for Touko. I then didn't do very much with her, and basically wrote her out by the end of the story.... it was unsatisfying even at the time, so this time I decided to introduce her much earlier, and I hope to do more with her as the story goes on ^^ (she did reappear in my bw2 fic with a much bigger role, but I think I want to do a better job building to that!)


	10. First steps into Castelia City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko and Touya cross Skyarrow Bridge to get to Castelia City. Once there, they discover that there's already been a little trouble in the big city...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wrenching myself away from the chaos of belial granblue to post an update i've been sitting on lmao

After their ordeal in Pinwheel Forest, Touko and Touya returned to Nacrene City to recuperate and heal their Pokémon. The next morning they left Nacrene and headed back into the forest, this time keeping to the paved road. Despite stopping a few times for battles with other trainers on the road, they were able to get through the forest at a decent pace. As the trees began to thin, Touko caught a glimpse of a giant structure looming in the distance.

_ Could that be… a bridge? _

The paved road eventually came to an end at the edge of the forest, capping off into a small rest area with a viewpoint. Connected to this rest area was a building serving as a gate. Touko and Touya ran forward, eager to get a glimpse of the view—and were greeted with the sight of the Castelia skyline, skyscrapers towering just across the water. The bridge Touko had seen between the trees stretched far into the distance.

“Whoaaaa!” she exclaimed, fumbling for her camera. “What an amazing view!!”

“Yeah, dang,” said Touya. “You gonna need a minute to get pictures?”

“You bet I am,” said Touko, letting her Pokémon out of their Pokéballs. Sawk, Lillipup, Blitzle, and Dewott appeared in quick succession, stretching their limbs and looking around curiously. “Alright, everyone, let’s see how best to do this… Bert, can you hold Toto for a second?”

Sawk nodded and smiled, then bent to pick up the smaller Pokémon. Touko had her Pokémon stand in a group arranged vaguely by height, with Sawk in the back and Blitzle and Dewott standing in front of him. Then she dashed back around to take a picture of them. Blitzle, Dewott, and Lillipup were used to their trainer’s hobby by now, and they all posed and smiled like naturals. Sawk was a little less familiar; there were several takes before Touko was able to get her Pokémon to smile at the camera.

“You’ll get it eventually,” Touko laughed as she checked her shots. “Great job, guys!”

After putting her camera away, Touko recalled her Pokémon again; all except for Sawk, who she wanted to have walking at her side this time. It was hard for Dewott to keep pace with his short legs, but Sawk (who was almost Touko’s height) would probably be able to keep up.

“Alright,” said Touya, “Should we get going?”

“Sure!” 

Touko put her camera away, and the two of them headed into the gate.

Skyarrow Bridge was just as magnificent up close as it was from afar. Its suspension towers rose practically into the clouds, and the pedestrian walkway provided crystal-clear views of the surrounding areas. Below the walkway was a freeway, rumbling with midday freight traffic. The bridge was built in such a way that the roar of the trucks barely reached the people walking up above.

“This. Is. Amazing,” said Touko, drinking in the scenery. “I’ve never been this high up before!”

“You haven’t?” said Touya quizzically.

“Nah. I’ve never really left Nuvema town before now.”

Touko took her camera out of her bag and started snapping pictures left and right, trying her best to include the flying Pokémon soaring overhead.

“I guess that makes sense,” said Touya. “So you’ve never been to Castelia, then?”

“Nope. What about you?”

“When I was little, my dad took me to visit once…” Touya trailed off, looking away. “It’s probably changed a lot. I don’t really remember it. Anyway—is there anything in particular you wanna see there, or do you just wanna wander around and check out the sights?”

“I’ve heard there’s a lot of galleries there, so I definitely want to check those out,” Touko answered, though her friend’s eagerness to change the subject didn’t escape her notice. Remembering that he mentioned a difficult situation at home, Touko wondered if a falling-out with his father was the reason why he’d left home. She knew better than to ask.

“Galleries sound cool,” said Touya. “I’m guessing you wanna find some photo galleries?”

“You bet I do!” said Touko, nodding to herself. “I wanna see what other photographers are doing, too. That way, can get a sense of what I should do to improve my own work.”

“Makes sense.”

The two of them continued over the bridge like this, passing time in light conversation and battling trainers who lay in wait for tourists to challenge. Touya’s family situation never came up again, so Touko decided to push that detail to the back of her mind for now. Whatever the situation was, he had managed to find a way out of it. 

After stopping for a quick lunch out of a vending machine at the gate on the other end of the bridge, the two of them stepped out into Castelia City proper.

Touko had never seen anything like it in her life. The buildings of Castelia City rose high above their heads; if she didn’t know any better, she would have assumed the skyscrapers really did touch the sky. Giant billboards advertized new products and TV programs, and enticing smells wafted from restaurants and food stands. The city was practically abuzz with people from all walks of life: while most were dressed in suits for the workplace, there were also street dancers in baggy shirts and pants, Pokémon trainers in their sporty shorts and hats, and even tourists with Alolan shirts and fancy cameras… Touko walked down the main drag with her head on a swivel, new things to see springing up at every turn.

“So,” said Touya, noticing his friend’s amazement. “How d’you like Castelia?”

“It’s… it’s  _ awesome!!” _ Touko exclaimed. “How about you, Bert?”

Sawk seemed like he’d never seen anything like this place either. He gripped Touko’s hand tightly, as if the height of the skyscrapers intimidated him.

“What should we do first?” Touko asked. The trainers came upon a big sign with a map of the city, so they stopped to take a look. On one side of the main road was a set of piers, some with ferries to other parts of the region; on the other side were cross streets lined with cafes, art galleries, office buildings…

“Last time I was here, there was this place that had really good ice cream,” said Touya. “Maybe we should go there? It’s been pretty hot out today…”

“Let’s hit the Pokémon Center first,” said Touko, pointing to it on the map. “After all that battling in Pinwheel Forest and on the bridge, our guys could probably use a break.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a good idea…”

And so, the two of them headed for the Pokémon Center: a huge, many-floored building that looked like it might be able to host hundreds of trainers at a time. Inside, the ground floor was mostly the same as any other Pokémon Center in the region, with the mart in one corner and a lounge in another—but the floor plan was twice as large. Even with the increased lobby space, the place was packed with trainers. Many of them showed off their Pokémon and badges amongst each other, or compared Pokedexes together. There was a small crowd around one of the TVs mounted on the walls: a major tournament was airing from another region, and a teen boy with purple hair and a Charizard seemed to be bulldozing the competition.

As she and Touya approached the counter, Touko overheard a pair of young trainers talking to a Pokémon Ranger in a red uniform off to the side.

“This round, red Pokémon has been making a lot of trouble lately!” said one of the trainers, a girl with glasses. “It steals food and lights things on fire! I saw it poop on the sidewalk, too!”

“Red, round Pokémon?” said the ranger, frowning. “That could be any number of Pokémon… do you remember anything else about it?”

“It looked kinda fat to me,” the girl commented. “I only saw it from behind…”

“It was always smiling, and it had big, staring eyes!” said the boy trainer, his cap on backward. “The businessmen at my dad’s work have been complaining about it for a while. I tried to catch it, but it got away… Can you do something about it?”

“Well, I can try,” said the ranger with a laugh. “I should head back to the forest soon, though…”

The trainers’ description piqued Touko’s curiosity. A fat, round Pokémon with staring eyes? It sounded kind of cute to her…

“Touya!” said Touko, gently nudging her friend. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“A red, round, cute Pokémon has been making trouble around here!”

“Uh, okay…”

“I wanna find it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this chapter and the next were all one thing. However, I also didn't spend as much time on Skyarrow Bridge in the original, so I ended up with a segment that was twice as long as it had originally been. Not wanting to drop a behemoth chapter all at once (at the risk of losing the detail abt Touya's backstory in the rest of the scene) I decided to split it up.
> 
> Obviously the reference to Leon wasn't in the original either lmao.... im trying so hard not to snap and write a giant Galar fic so this is how I'm tiding myself over


	11. The round, red Pokémon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko and Touya set out to search for the round, red Pokemon that's been making trouble around town.

Touko left the Pokémon Center as soon as they’d healed their Pokémon, Touya following skeptically behind. She decided to start her search on one of the main roads, and kept to the far sides to avoid colliding with the businesspeople rushing around them. Touko found herself wondering why they all seemed to be in such a hurry. She kept her eyes peeled, searching for that mischievous Pokémon… but there was so much activity on the street, it was hard to see anything other than a sea of people and Pokémon moving.

“This might be harder than I thought…” Touko admitted as they reached the end of the block.

“There’s gotta be a bazillion Pokémon with that description,” said Touya. “Red, round, and cute? I can think of at least three… We probably shouldn’t waste our time with this.”

“Oh come on, Touya! Aren’t you curious?”

“I was actually hoping to find the gym…”

Before Touko could respond, something rushed past them in a blur of red fur on the concrete below them. They had only just noticed it when a young man in a suit came barreling after it, smoking briefcase in hand.

“Hey! Stop that Pokémon! It set my quarterly report on fire—I stayed up all night finishing this!!”

The two trainers looked at each other before leaping into action. Their shoes clomped against the pavement as they gave chase, eyes on the red Pokémon as it weaved between legs and around obstacles. Touko was sure it was the one that the younger trainers were talking about earlier; even from a distance she could see that its body was round as a ball.

“It’s fast for how fat it is!” said Touya. “I’ll get Pidove to help!”

Touya threw a Pokéball, and his Pidove popped from it.

“Pidove, follow that Pokémon! It’s round and red!”

Pidove chirped in the affirmative before flying off, pursuing the red Pokémon at a faster pace than the two trainers could manage on foot. With Pidove in the air, the two of them could easily follow the red Pokémon’s path when it disappeared into crowds.

Touko and Touya chased the Pokémon all over town, never getting close enough to identify it with the Pokédex. It stole a Casteliacone from the ice cream stand, broke a cup at a cafe, pooped in the fountain in the park, and set fire to one of the bushes in front of a tall building marked GameFreak. After a while even Touya’s Pidove tired out, leaving them to do the rest of the chasing themselves. No matter how close they seemed to get, the Pokémon was always one step ahead of them.

“Touko…” said Touya finally as the two of them collapsed on a bench near the piers, “L-let’s call it a day… I don’t think we’re ever going to catch up to it…”

“No way…” Touko wheezed. It felt like a struggle even to breathe, but she still managed to get the words out. “We’ve come this far… we’ve gotta stop it before it gets into more trouble…”

“We’ve been running in _circles_ ,” Touya groaned. “Can’t we just let the police handle it or something?”

Gritting her teeth, Touko struggled back to her feet. 

“Touko… hey!”

She’d glimpsed something round and red disappearing into an alleyway, and she mustered the last of her strength in order to follow it. Even if she didn’t get to capture it, she at least wanted to get a photo of the most troublesome Pokémon she’d ever met.

As soon as she got to the alleyway, however, she noticed immediately that something was wrong. The round, red Pokémon had come to a halt in front of two bulky, intimidating men dressed in leather and spikes.

“What’s your problem, punk?” said one of the men, addressing the Pokémon. “You think you own this place? Huh? Them’s expensive shoes you just ruined.”

“Yeah, you’ll pay for this!” shouted the other man.

The Pokémon took a timid step backwards, chittering nervously.

“You’re not gettin’ away!” shouted the first man. “Go, Gurdurr!”

The man threw a Pokéball, and a tough-looking tan Pokémon popped from it. The Pokémon sported a clownlike nose and bulging pink veins, and it wielded an iron construction beam as a weapon.

The red Pokémon turned around and ran, bumping headlong into Touko’s legs. The Pokémon glanced up for a second to see what it had hit before running around to hide, quivering, behind her.

“Not so tough now, are you?” said one of the men. “Running home to mommy? What a wimp!”

“Hey!” said Touko. “That’s not nice!”

By now Touya had arrived on the scene. Noticing the Pokémon hiding behind Touko, he whipped out his Pokédex to identify it. 

“ _Darumaka. Zen Charm Pokémon. When its internal fire is burning, it cannot calm down and runs around uncontrollably. After the fire diminishes, it falls asleep with its limbs tucked into its body. While it is sleeping, it will always return to its original position even if it is tipped over._ ”

“Aw, I wanna see that…” Touko couldn’t help smiling at that mental image.

“Who cares?!” said Gurdurr’s trainer. “It took a big hot shit on my shoe and burned a damn hole in it! These shoes cost me a fortune, you hear me?! That little punk is gonna answer for what it did—!”

“I don’t think Darumaka was trying to be mean,” Touko cut him off. “You heard the Pokédex. It just has a lot of energy it doesn’t know what to do with.”

“That ain’t an excuse!” the man with the ruined shoes shot back. “You supposed to be its trainer or somethin? A trainer who can’t keep their Pokémon under control ain’t worth shit!”

“I may not be its trainer, but I’m not gonna stand by and let you pummel a Pokémon that didn’t know any better!” Touko bravely held her ground, taking Sawk’s Pokéball from her bag. “Bert, back me up!”

Touko’s Sawk appeared in a flash of white light. Seeing that he had been sent into battle, the Pokémon immediately took a fighting stance.

“Suit yourself!” Gurdurr’s trainer cracked his knuckles. “Gurdurr, Low Kick!”

“Bert, use Double Kick!”

Touko knew that pitting a fighting-type Pokémon against another fighting-type Pokémon was a poor matchup, but she didn’t have any Pokémon that were advantageous against fighting-types. Sawk would at least be resistant to his own type, and she hoped that would bolster her chances despite the Pokémon’s less-than-average defenses. 

Sawk jumped forward to attack with a flurry of kicks, and Gurrdurr went in low for a kick of its own. Sawk’s legs were longer, however, and the Pokémon deftly knocked his opponent back before its attack could connect.

“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?! Try _this_ on for size: Gurdurr, Rock Throw!”

“Bert, Low Sweep!”

Gurrdurr heaved its iron beam forward to strike the ground, dislodging some asphalt it could use for its attack. Before it could complete its attack, however, Sawk had already moved— knocking Gurdurr’s legs out from under it in one swift motion. The Pokémon crashed to the ground, its beam on top of it, while Sawk hopped back to Touko’s side of the field. Gurdurr struggled back to its feet.

“Gurdurr, Rock Throw again!”

“Bert, Double Kick!”

This time Gurdurr was able to use the asphalt chunks it had dug up; it lifted each over its head and lobbed them at its opponent. Sawk, however, was undeterred; he kept a careful watch on his opponent’s moves and tracked the path of each block. He lifted his hands, and with a decisive cry, he shattered each of the blocks with a perfectly-aimed knifehand strike. Then he lunged forward to execute Touko’s command, delivering swift kicks to Gurrdurr’s stomach and face. The other Pokémon staggered, then fell backwards onto the pavement, unconscious.

“Ya gotta be kiddin’ me!!” shouted the other man, eyes wide in shock. “I’ve never seen my bro’s Gurrdurr go down so fast!!”

“Huh,” said Touya. “It’s over already?”

“For all your big talk, your Pokémon wasn’t all that strong,” said Touko, frowning.

“S-shut up!!” said Gurrdurr’s trainer, recalling his Pokémon in a hurry. “I don’t get why you went so far for that little shit, but whatever! I don’t need to waste my time with bleeding hearts like you.” Turning to the man next to him, he added, “Let’s get outta here; my whole day’s outta whack.”

“You said it, man.”

The two men turned tail and hurried away, disappearing around a building and into another alley. Touya whistled and put his hands behind his head.

“Man, Touko, your Pokémon are getting stronger!” he said. “That was pretty impressive. I’d never guess you only met your Sawk like yesterday.”

“Glad to hear it!” Touko beamed. She walked up to Sawk to thank him, holding out her hand for a fist bump. Sawk seemed to understand what she wanted, and met her fist with his own. “Hey Bert, those Karate Chops were pretty good!”

“Sawk,” Sawk nodded, smiling to himself.

“I bet you could use ‘em for real if you wanted to,” said Touko, taking out her Pokédex. “Since you don’t know any chopping moves right now—oh, huh.”

Touko had looked down at Sawk’s profile on the screen, and noticed that her Pokémon had learned an additional move: Karate Chop. Her Pokémon must have finally perfected the attack to its liking—or perhaps found an application for it outside of solitary training.

“Sweet,” she continued. “Let’s keep getting stronger together from here on out, Bert!”

“Sawk, saw!”

Touko recalled her Pokémon, then knelt down to Darumaka to see if it was okay. Thankfully, the fire-type Pokémon seemed to be unhurt. Darumaka watched her in awe, making small noises as it looked her over.

“Can we trust you to stay out of trouble?” Touko asked it sternly. “Don’t go picking on people bigger than you.”

Darumaka nodded; at least, it moved its body up and down in a nod-like motion. Now that she could get a good look at it, Touko had to admit that it was pretty cute. Its eyes were big and staring, just as the boy in the Pokémon Center had said, and it grinned up at her cheerily.

“Alright,” said Touko, giving it a pat on the head. Its short fur felt coarser than Dewott’s, but its body was warm. “Be good, okay?”

Touko stood up again and nodded to Touya. The two of them turned to leave, but Darumaka ran up to Touko and grabbed one of her legs. She stopped, looking down at it curiously. It rubbed its face into her shin, its stubby arms just barely reaching around.

“Hey,” said Touko. She made to pick it up and move it away from her, but, after discovering that it was actually very heavy, decided to leave it where it was. “What gives?”

Darumaka chirped, its grin widening.

“Are you saying you want to come with us?”

“Makka!”

Touko couldn’t help feeling a jolt of excitement. As obnoxious as it had been earlier, the little thing had already grown on her. Its cute face definitely helped.

“Well, okay,” she said, sighing. “You’re too cute to turn down.”

 _“Seriously,_ Touko?” Touya asked in disbelief. “It might be a big handful…”

“Yeah, probably,” Touko answered. She patted the Pokémon affectionately, and it purred slightly at her touch. “I think it likes me. Besides, it’s a fire type—maybe it’ll come in handy.”

“Did you forget that it was pooping everywhere earlier??”

“That’s what Pokéballs are for!”

Touko set Darumaka on the ground again and took a Pokéball from her bag to show it.

“This will make it so we can travel together,” said Touko. “Would you be okay with that?”

“Makka!” The Pokémon nodded emphatically, though Touko couldn’t be sure it had truly understood what she was saying. For a moment she thought, guiltily, of N—was this really something Darumaka wanted? 

The Pokémon itself, however, quickly allayed her fears: it reached out and tapped the button on the Pokéball in her hand. The Pokéball opened, sucking Darumaka inside. In stark contrast to her previous catches, this time the warning light went off quickly. Touko held up the Pokéball happily.

“Aw yeah! We’re gonna be the best friends ever! And I’m gonna name you…!” She took a minute to think about it. “Gueira!”

“Gueira? What kind of name is Gueira?!”

“I dunno, it came to me just now.”

“If you say so…” said Touya. “Let’s head back to the Pokémon center. I’m bushed from all that running…”

It was at this moment that Touko remembered how sore her legs were. They’d chased Darumaka around town for the better part of an hour.

“… haha, yeah. Let’s do that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot of changes from the original here, other than expanding in some places that I'd originally brushed over. I also had Touko give Darumaka a different nickname than she ended up giving it in the original. (The venn diagram of "zen masters" and "snappy nicknames" is pretty narrow, so I decided to go for a different nerd reference this time...)


	12. The Subway Twins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko and Touya encounter a pair of strange but well-meaning trainers in huge coats and hats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who has 2 thumbs and is stranded in the Reno airport? this guy, that's who. how about an update for yall while i wait for my flight
> 
> Also I ended up changing my mind about the Subway Masters' names at the literal last second so uhhhh i've removed the note from the start of the fic about that. (I did decide to keep the jp title "Subway Masters" over the eng title "Subway Bosses" bc.... reasons)

The following day found both Touya and Touko well-rested. Their legs had stopped hurting from the previous day’s adventure, and their Pokémon were itching to get out and train. They spent much of the morning battling and meeting other trainers; to their surprise, many of the trainers they encountered were well above their skill level, and they ended up losing more fights than they won. Just before lunch, the two met a pair of trainers from the Hoenn region who were out and about with a big, blue Pokémon Touko had never seen. Touko made sure to get a picture of it; she’d never worked with a Pokémon that big before, and figured it would make good practice. As she snapped photos, Touko couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d seen those Hoenn trainers somewhere before…

After the two Hoenn trainers went on their way, Touko and Touya took a walk along the waterfront together. The early-summer weather was perfect: the sun sparkled off the sea, and the air was warm and mild. Touko breathed deeply, taking in the ocean breeze.

“This is great!” she said, stretching. “Ocean views, cool architecture, a million shops selling anything you could ever need—Castelia City really _does_ have it all. I feel like I’ve been living under a rock all this time.”

“Doesn’t Nuvema have an ocean view?” Touya asked.

“It does, but nothing as picturesque as this!” said Touko. She put her fingers and thumbs together in a rectangle shape, framing various potential shots to test composition. “I could stay here taking pictures for weeks—ack!”

Someone had suddenly bumped into her while she was distracted with her framing, nearly bowling her over. It was a young boy, perhaps a few years younger than they were, wearing a hoodie and ragged jeans. 

“Sorry,” the boy said hastily. Touko frowned, crossing her arms.

“Just be more careful next time, okay?”

The boy nodded before running off again. 

“Jeez, what was that all about…?” said Touya, “Maybe he was late for something…” 

Touko went to see if her camera was alright, but let out a cry of shock: her previously zipped bag was wide open, and one of her Pokéballs was now missing.

“What? What is it?!” said Touya.

“That kid stole one of my Pokémon!”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me--!”

Touko gave chase, with Touya hot on her heels. The thief had had a considerable head start, and Touko wasn’t sure she would be able to catch up.

“Stop, thief!” cried Touya, hoping that someone would hear him. “That kid in the hoodie’s got my friend’s Pokémon!”

The boy realized he was being followed and glanced over his shoulder to check his distance, weighing his options. In that moment he collided with something at about chest-level and flipped upside-down before landing hard on his back on the pavement.

“Ow… what the fu—!?”

The boy looked up and saw that he’d been clotheslined by an outstretched arm. The owner of the arm shot a piercing gaze down at him over his shoulder, and answered in a cold, stern voice:

“It’s not right to take things that aren’t yours, young man.”

The thief let out a cry of fright and chucked the stolen Pokéball at the stranger before making a break for it. The man caught the Pokéball with little effort, scoffing under his breath. Touko and Touya had reached him by now, and they could finally get a good look at whoever it was who had saved the day. The mysterious man turned to face them; as he did, a second man stepped into view from behind him.

Touko and Touya couldn’t help staring. Before them stood a pair of what were apparently identical twins, each with silver hair that grew into pointed sidelocks. Their outfits were nothing short of ridiculous: though it was the middle of the summer, both donned huge coats and hats. One wore all white, the other wore all black. It was the one in black who’d held out his arm to stop the thief.

“Aha! You two must be the ones whose Pokémon this is~!” said the man dressed in all white. On his face was a smile that was somehow as sinister as it was cheerful.

“Here, I believe this is yours,” said the man dressed in all black, holding out Touko’s Pokéball. In sharp contrast to his twin, his expression was serious and a little gloomy; the two of them made quite a pair next to each other. Touko hastily took the Pokéball back and put it back in her bag.

“Thank you so, so much for your help,” she said quickly. “I don’t know _what_ I would’ve done if you guys hadn’t been here…”

“It was no trouble,” said the man in black. “Pickpockets are unfortunately becoming more common here in Castelia. Particularly where those Plasma people are concerned…”

“How rude of them!” said the man in white. Though his tone was indignant, his smile never wavered. “Stealing Pokémon from others is no good! They’re ruining the fun for everyone else!”

“Indeed.”

“Um… can I ask something?” asked Touya. “Not many people go around in coats like that at this time of year. Are you some kind of celebrities?”

The smiling man chuckled.

“Not quite. This is my twin, Ingo!” said the smiling man, pointing to his brother.

“And this fellow over here is my twin, Emmet,” the frowning man added, pointing to the other.

_“Nice to meet you!”_ they said in unison. _“We’re the Subway Masters!”_

“Subway?” said Touko. “This city has a subway? That’s so cool!”

“Ah, sorry to disappoint,” said Ingo. “What we mean by ‘subway’ is the Battle Subway in Nimbasa city, just north of here.”

“I’ve never heard of that before,” said Touya.

“You haven’t? We put up a whole bunch of flyers and stuff…” Emmet sounded disappointed, though it was hard to tell from his face. His smile lessened, if only a little, and his brows knit above his staring eyes. The overall effect made him look like a slightly confused cat. Touko had to fight to keep herself from laughing.

“What _is_ the Battle Subway, then?” she asked.

“So glad you asked!” Emmet brightened immediately. “Some regions have the Battle Tower, but Unova has the Battle Subway! It’s a place where trainers can have fast-paced battles on moving trains! We worked really hard on it!”

“Moving trains?” Touya frowned. “That sounds kinda dangerous—!”

“Oh no, it’s fun!!” Emmet interrupted him. “We made sure it’s super safe! Yup!”

“Our trains comply with the highest safety standards in the industry,” Ingo added. Though his frown never changed, there was a hint of pride in his voice. “And on top of that we’ve made our own adjustments to ensure stability even with battles raging inside. You won’t find a smoother train ride anywhere in the world.”

“Yup, yup!” Emmet piped up.

“The Battle Subway has several different lines, for a multitude of different battling experiences,” Ingo explained. “Downtown-bound trains are specifically for Double Battles. If you win six straight battles on one, you will fight Emmet in the seventh.”

“Uptown-bound trains are for single battles~!” said Emmet. “Win six straight battles, and Ingo will be your last opponent!”

_“On an eastbound train, you face off against both of us.”_

“And on a westbound train, you team up with another trainer…”

“And we take both of you on together! Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“Well, it’s a bit confusing…” said Touya. “It sounds interesting, but I’m not sure which line I’d wanna take first…”

“Oh, but it’s loads of fun no matter which train you take!” said Emmet. “It’s verrrrrry fun! We get all kinds of strong trainers to visit us there!”

“You won’t be disappointed,” said Ingo.

“You should give it a try sometime!” said Emmet.

“We’ll be waiting for you in Nimbasa city,” said Ingo. “Please do visit us if you’re ever in town.”

“We will!” said Touko.

“We will?” Touya looked at her.

“Sure! I owe ‘em one for getting my Pokémon back.” Touko grinned. “When I get to Nimbasa city, I’ll be sure to find the Battle Subway first thing!”

“Yaaaay!!!” Emmet waved his arms excitedly. “We’ll look forward to battling with you!!”

“Indeed we will. But ah, Emmet, we should be heading back now…”

“Oh, you’re right!” said Emmet. “The trains won’t run themselves! We’ll see you two around!!”

Touko and Touya nodded, and the Subway Masters took their leave, coats swishing behind them. The two trainers watched until the twins had disappeared around a corner, then looked at each other.

“...well, that was weird…” said Touya. “Those two gave off some real creepy vibes… One was really peppy, and the other seemed like someone you don’t wanna mess with…”

“I thought they were cute together!” said Touko. “… in a creepy sort of way.”

Touya wondered if there was any correlation between Touko thinking of Darumaka as cute and the Subway Masters as cute. Either way, he worried for her tastes.

“I hope I get to meet them again sometime,” Touko continued. “They seemed like interesting people.”

“I guess,” said Touya. “Nimbasa’s not far from here, so there’s a chance we might run into them again. If I’m being honest, I’d rather not, though.”

“Why not?”

“The smiley one just creeped me out,” Touya admitted. “The serious one was weird too, but the smiley one straight up made me nervous. He kept smiling even when he sounded mad…”

“I think you’re being a little paranoid here,” said Touko. “They helped me out, so I don’t think they’re bad people. I’d rather give ‘em the benefit of the doubt, anyway.”

“Suit yourself.” Touya shrugged. He hoped Touko was right, but at the same time, he would consider himself lucky if he got in and out of Nimbasa without running into the twins again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A minor change from the original here: Touya had originally been the one to have his Pokemon stolen. Considering I had just finished up a different arc with that same thing happening I decided to give him a break lmao


	13. Waterfront Stroll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko and Touya continue their walk along the waterfront, shooting the breeze.

The two of them continued their walk along the waterfront. Touko had wanted to get ice cream, but there were already rumors going around that the shop had sold out for the day. Instead, the two of them kept their eyes peeled for trainers they could battle with. Touko didn’t mind one way or another; she could always find new clients among the trainers they battled. Touya, however, was already anticipating trying out for his next badge at Castelia’s Gym, and he wanted to make sure he was prepared.

“Hey Touko,” said Touya as they walked. “Are you thinking about getting your pictures shown in a gallery someday? There’s some galleries here; I bet you could find one that’d be interested in your work. I haven’t seen a lot of what you’ve done, but from what I’ve seen, you’re pretty good.”

“Maybe…” said Touko. She of course dreamed of being world-famous someday, but she hadn’t really thought practically about the steps to get there yet—other than setting off on a journey to broaden her portfolio. She’d figured the rest could come later.

“I mean, you know,” said Touya, “If you’re not gonna participate in the Gym challenge, you should probably work on getting your name out there as a photographer, you know?”

“Yeah,” said Touko, “I don’t know, though. Part of me is kind of afraid that people won’t like my work, or that they’ll say mean things about it. I know it’s silly, but…”

“There are gonna be harsh critics wherever you go, though” said Touya. “You’ve gotta start somewhere. What’s your favorite shot you’ve ever taken? Maybe you could submit it to a magazine or something.”

Touko thought about that for a while. Her immediate answer was the picture of N and Purrloin from before they’d met, but she hesitated to say that. Even after a few weeks of taking new photos each day, it was still the best photo she’d ever taken—it was technically impressive, well composed, with good color and lighting. But now that she knew the man in the photograph, her appreciation for it was slightly tainted. Where before she’d been charmed by the mystery as well as the warm emotion, now when she looked at it, it only served as a reminder of how conflicted she really was about him.

“Touko? You awake…?”

“Uh, yeah! Just trying to think of my favorite shot ever. I think it was…”

Had Touya met N? Touko couldn’t be sure; she only knew that she hadn’t seen N since she joined up with Touya in Nacrene. She struggled to find a way to describe the shot without giving away who was in it.

“Yeah. It was this picture of a trainer and his Pokémon, in perfect harmony. The thing is, though, I never found out who it was, so I can’t get the shot published…”

“Can I see?”

“Uh…” She figured it couldn’t hurt to show him. “Sure. Here, let me get it out…”

Touko took out her camera, flipping through the camera roll to get to that shot—she’d backed up her camera’s files to an external drive at the Pokémon Center, but she couldn’t bring herself to clear this particular file off her camera roll. Once she got to the shot, she held it out for Touya to see.

“Oh whoa, that  _ is _ a good shot,” Touya commented. “Yeah, if you can ever get this dude’s permission, you should totally get it published.”

“Thanks…” Touko couldn’t help smiling to herself. As she took the camera back from him, something suddenly occurred to her. “Hey, Touya? I don’t think I have a picture of  _ you _ yet.”

Touya flushed awkwardly.

“Uh…  _ why  _ do you want a picture of me?”

“I dunno. Just in case somewhere along the way we split up. I want to have a picture to show people when I’m telling them about the time we traveled together.”

“Okay, I guess that’s fine…”

“Oh, and send out one of your Pokémon, too!”

Though he wondered what she had in mind, Touya let his Tympole out of its Pokéball and picked it up off the ground. Touko had seen him catch it, but she still couldn’t decide if she found it creepy or cute—where Darumaka was mostly cute, Tympole had a much more unsettling face. She couldn’t be sure whether its expression was supposed to convey happiness or sadness.

Touko aimed her camera at Touya, fiddling with the lens to get it to focus. The ocean would make up the background, the sky filled with dramatic cumulus clouds. The scenery accentuated her friend’s coat and Tympole’s tail, while bringing out the red and brown in his hat and hair.

“Smile!”

Touko snapped a picture. Then she snapped two more, just to make sure. As soon as she brought the camera down, Touya came over to see how it turned out.

“Nice,” he said. The summer sun made it difficult to see the screen, but he was confident she’d taken a decent picture. “You ever consider doing portraits of trainers with their Pokémon?”

Touko shook her head.

“I like taking pictures of Pokémon better. It’d be fun to photograph all the Pokémon there are someday.”

“I dunno, I think you might have a talent for trainer portraits, too,” said Touya. “You could have like a blog on Mumblr documenting all the trainers and Pokémon you meet. Every trainer’s got their own story, right? This would be a great way to showcase all the different trainers and Pokémon in Unova.”

“Huh, you know what…” Now that she thought about it, Touya’s idea actually sounded interesting. “Can I steal that? That’s a great idea!”

“Sure!” said Touya, grinning. “I won’t even charge royalties.”

Touko couldn’t help laughing. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to start a project like that right now—not now that she was in the middle of a journey, anyway—but she made a mental note to make an account on Mumblr just in case. If anything, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to set up an online portfolio… 

As Touko mulled this over, debating what to call her future blog, the sound of footsteps coming closer caught her ears. The two of them turned toward the noise, and Touko let out a gasp as she recognized her friend Bianca approaching at high speed.

“Touko!” she cried, stopping to catch her breath. “Thank goodness you’re here! A meanie from Team Plasma just took my Munny away!”

“What? That’s awful!” said Touko.

“I wanted to find the gym leader to help me, but he wasn’t at the gym, so I decided to find a strong trainer to help instead!” said Bianca. “You’ll help, right, Touko?”

“Of course I will!” Touko crossed her arms. “I’ll teach those crooks a lesson no matter how many times it takes.”

“Um… what’s going on?” a new voice asked.

The three trainers turned: a younger girl with brown skin and huge purple hair had come to see what the fuss was. Touko had seen her on the pier nearby; she must have heard the commotion Bianca was making.

“I’m Iris! I’m a Pokémon trainer too!” the newcomer introduced herself, smiling cheerily despite the general mood. “Did something happen? I can help if Burgh isn’t around!”

“Those meanies from Team Plasma took Munny away!” said Bianca, turning to Iris. “I’d love your help! These guys were stronger than other Team Plasma grunts, so we’re going to need all the help we can get!”

“That’s so bad!” said Iris. “Taking people’s Pokémon is really bad! ‘Cause it’s really nice when people and Pokémon are together! They each have something the other doesn’t, and they help each other! We should go get that Pokémon back right now!”

“Same—I’ve just about had it with those clowns,” said Touko. “Come on, Touya, let’s go give ‘em the business!”

“Do we have to…?” Touya groaned. “I’d rather stay as far away from Team Plasma as possible…”

“Where did they go?” Touko asked, ignoring him.

“They were headed towards the gym!” said Bianca. “At least, that’s where I think they were going. I tried following them, but I lost sight of them around there...”

“Then let’s go find them!” said Iris. “I’ll protect you, blond girl!”

“I’m Bianca,” said Bianca timidly.

“Okay, Bianca! I’ll be your bodyguard, okay? Let’s go!”

“Okay… whoa, wait—!” 

Iris had taken Bianca by the wrist and started running, with the latter struggling to keep her hat on as they went. Touko and Touya shared a nod before taking off after them.

“I swear…” said Touya glumly, “Seems like all everyone does here is run around…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art for this chapter can be found [here!](https://jewish-anime.tumblr.com/post/190398821397/art-for-the-new-chapter-of-my-pokemon-bw-fic)
> 
> Originally this chapter wasn't much of anything, but I decided to use it to start building to something that I had established in my BW2 fic (Touko's blog).


	14. Plasbad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko, Touya, Iris, and Bianca manage to catch up with Team Plasma. Iris teams up with the local gym leader, Burgh, to put a stop to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter this time, but the next one is pretty long, so I decided to post this one by itself haha...

The four of them made their way to the western side of the city, following Iris’ lead—though nobody had seen where the grunts went, she seemed to have a hunch where they’d ended up. As they neared a building with a sign denoting it as Castelia Gym, they noticed a commotion outside one of the office buildings across from it. A group of people dressed in Plasma uniforms confronted a tall man wearing green and red. None of them had Pokémon out, but Touko could tell that a battle was imminent.

“Hey, it’s Burgh!” said Iris, waving excitedly.

The tall man turned to face them at the sound of his name.

“Ah! Iris! Long time no see, darling~!” he said, his cadence somewhat feminine. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the best time to chat. I’ve got my hands kinda full here…”

“We can help out!” said Iris. “I brought all these trainers to back you up!”

“But first, Team Plasma needs to give back Munny!” said Bianca.

“Yeah, that’s right!” said Iris. “Give this girl back her Pokémon, you meanies!”

“No way!” said one of the Plasma grunts, a man. “Munna should be happy that we freed it from Pokémon trainers like you!”

“Stealing is bad!” Iris declared. “Burgh, let’s take these guys on!”

“Right behind you!” said Burgh. He turned his attention back to the grunts. “As the Gym Leader of Castelia, I won’t let you just do whatever you please in my city. Once we’ve beaten you, you’d better pack it up!”

“Like that’ll happen!” said another grunt, a female, “Let’s go, Patrat!”

“Sandile, it’s you!” said the first grunt who’d spoken, tossing a Pokéball. Two Pokémon appeared before them: the chipmunk-like Patrat, and the crocodile-like Sandile.

Pokéball at the ready, Touko waited for the other grunts to send out Pokémon—but after a minute or so, she realized that they weren’t trainers. They hid timidly behind the other grunts, some averting their eyes from the unfolding battle. Touko almost felt bad for them… almost.

“All right, Whirlipede, show these philistines the power of our friendship!” said Burgh, taking a Pokéball from his pocket.

“Fraxure, let’s have a fun battle!” said Iris. 

Both of them tossed their Pokéballs: from Burgh’s came a Pokémon that looked sort of like a curled-up caterpillar, while a bipedal lizard with huge tusks appeared from Iris’s. Team Plasma’s tiny Pokémon were completely dwarfed.

“Sandile, Assurance!”

“Patrat, Tackle!”

“Whirlipede, begin with Poison Tail!”

“Okay, Fraxure, use Double Chop! Pretty please?”

Whirlipede struck first, rolling forward at an amazing speed and bowling over Patrat without a second glance backward. Though Patrat managed to get back to its feet, it flinched—the attack had left it poisoned. Fraxure went next, slashing at Sandile twice in a row with its tusks. The ground-type Pokémon was knocked on its back, and it flailed around like an upended turtle for a bit before finally righting itself. Patrat threw itself at Whirlipede in a full-body tackle, but Whirlipede rolled out of the way, and Patrat fell face flat on the concrete. Sandile then tried to attack Fraxure with a point-blank slap to the face, but the dragon Pokémon didn’t seem too fazed by the attack.

“Not so hot now, are you, Team Plasma?” said Burgh. “I see you’re having trouble backing up those tall words of yours.”

“Rrrgh—!” The female grunt grit her teeth in frustration. “Patrat, use Bite!” 

Patrat, however, staggered and let out a groan; it was starting to succumb to the poison, and its movements were sluggish. The female grunt let out a cry of fright before recalling it.

“It’s okay, Patrat, I’ll keep you safe…!” she said.

“You won’t even let it finish the fight?!” Touya asked in disbelief.

“I don’t want it to get hurt anymore!” the grunt snapped back. “I didn’t even want it to fight in the first place!!  _ You guys _ were the ones who made us fight!”

“Yeah, bulldozing weaker trainers like this is just wrong!” the male grunt added. “What gives you the right to—!”

“Excuse me, but aren’t  _ you _ the ones who’ve been stealing people’s Pokémon around town?” Burgh asked sternly. “Don’t go playing the victim when you’ve been victimizing others.” Turning to Iris, he added, “Let’s clean this up, shall we?”

“M-hm!” Iris answered. “Fraxure, use Dragon Rage!”

“Whirlipede, Screech!”

Whirlipede let out a high-pitched, terrible shriek that made everyone cringe, covering their ears with their hands. Sandile had no way of defending itself from the sonic attack and got disoriented from the noise. Fraxure then leaped forward and slammed into Sandile, its body glowing red with draconic power. Sandile was knocked to the ground, unconscious, and its trainer reluctantly recalled it. 

Touya and Touko looked on in awe, amazed at the battle they’d just witnessed. That the local Gym Leader was strong was only to be expected, but Iris was almost terrifyingly strong for a girl her age. 

“Woohoo!” said Iris, jumping in the air. “We did it! Good job, Fraxure!”

“Thank you, Whirlipede,” said Burgh. Both trainers recalled their Pokémon. “You’ve gotten stronger since I last saw you, Iris.”

“I’ve been training hard with Drayden!” said Iris, grinning cheekily. “…oh! Right!”

She turned her attention back to Team Plasma, who had taken a step back in terror.

“This is bad,” said the male grunt who’d fought them. “Badbadbadbadbadbad! Bad for Team Plasma! Plasbad!”

“Now that we’ve beaten you, you gotta give Munny back right now!” said Iris.

“And then you must leave Castelia,” said Burgh, “Or I won’t hesitate to use greater force in showing you the door.”

“I thought Castelia was supposed to be a city where  _ everyone _ can live, regardless of what they believe,” the male grunt taunted. “What happened to that, huh?”

“That’s still true,” said Burgh, “But while having different beliefs from someone is one thing, it’s another thing to steal from them or hurt them. As Gym Leader, I have no tolerance for people who hurt others.”

“Oh yeah?” said the female grunt. “Well, we’re gonna go report this to the Seven Sages  _ right now! _ You’ll be sorry you ever messed with us!”

“Ooh, you’re in trouble now!” said the male grunt. “Lord Ghetsis won’t let you get away with this!!”

Before Burgh could say anything back, the Plasma grunts turned tail and fled into the building behind them.

“We’ve gotta follow them!” said Touko. Part of her wanted to just stand back and let the stronger trainers handle it, but part of her still wanted to fight to get her friend’s Pokémon back. It would be a good opportunity to give Team Plasma a piece of her mind.

“Touko, are you sure?” said Touya. “Burgh and Iris can probably handle this—!”

“Actually, I say the more the merrier!” said Burgh. “I don’t know how many of them there are, and there might be stronger ones waiting inside. Let’s go together and show them what being a Pokémon trainer is all about!”

“I’m going in!” said Iris. “You too, Bianca!” 

“Wait, waaait—!”

Iris ran into the building, pulling the helpless Bianca along behind her. Burgh gave Touya and Touko a solemn nod.

“We can save introductions for later,” he said. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been doing my best to characterize Team Plasma as ppl who are just like. constantly acting in bad faith and twisting arguments to make themselves look better. also as [annoying sea lion-types](http://wondermark.com/1k62/). They're the kind of people who will say "both sides have a right to be heard!" and then use that to give their extremist propaganda a platform.
> 
> u know not to be Too Real in a pokemon fic or anything but it's been personally cathartic for me to write them like this lmao


	15. Team Plasma's Ideals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko, Touya, and the rest pursue Team Plasma into their hideout. There, they find that a much more formidable foe awaits them...

Touko was shocked at the sight that awaited her inside. What had appeared to be an ordinary apartment building from the outside was completely decked out in Team Plasma colors on the inside: battle standards hung on the walls, and uniformed grunts could be seen congregating around couches and chairs. Three important-looking old men stood in the center of the lobby, flanked by the group of grunts from before. In the center of the old men was someone Touko recognized from Accumula: Ghetsis. The men at either side of him wore similar robes, if less elaborate. Everyone stood firm, eyeing each other and wondering if the rising tension would erupt into an all-out Pokémon battle.

“My word, it’s the Gym Leader, Burgh,” said Ghetsis, bringing a hand to his mouth to feign surprise, “And what a posse you’ve brought with you! Now, what can we do for you?”

“I’d like a word with you, Team Plasma,” Burgh replied, “And not just because this young lady would like her Pokémon back. Something’s been bothering me about your group ever since you first showed up here.”

“Oh?” Ghetsis seemed only mildly intrigued.

“What would you say is the guiding principle of Team Plasma, anyway?” said Burgh. “Is it, ‘Take what you want from people’?”

One of the other old men turned to Ghetsis as if Burgh hadn’t spoken.

“I apologize for the intrusion, my lord,” he said. “I thought it would be amusing to prepare a base right in front of the Pokémon gym. What a mockery we could have made of Pokémon trainers then! It seems we’ve been detected more quickly than I imagined.”

“Amusing indeed,” said Ghetsis, humorlessly.

“Hey, listen when people talk to you!” Touya cut in.

“Answer Burgh’s question!” said Iris.

“No matter,” Ghetsis continued, ignoring them. “We already have an exceptional base of operations elsewhere. Our need of this place has run its course.”

Ghetsis turned back to the small crowd gathered across from him and nodded, as if to apologize for the delay.

“What is our guiding principle, you ask? How shall I explain this?” he said. “Is everyone here familiar with the legend of the founding of the Unova region?”

Burgh nodded; Touko and Touya shook their heads.

“I know, I know!” said Iris, waving her hand. “It’s the black dragon-type Pokémon, right?”

“Indeed. What a smart girl,” said Ghetsis. “For you unfortunate folk who’ve never heard the tale, I suppose I should explain.” 

Ghetsis stepped forward and began to pace back and forth, moving along the group left to right.

“The legend is this… The black dragon appeared before a hero who sought the ideal way to knit together a world full of warring people. The black dragon shared its knowledge with that hero—and bared its fangs at those who stood against them. Together, the power of the Pokémon and the hero brought unity to the hearts of everyone in the land, and that, it is said, is how Unova was created.”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?” asked Touya. “I don’t see how that justifies taking Pokémon from others.”

“Whether or not you understand is of no consequence to me,” said Ghetsis. “Put simply, our aim as Team Plasma is to bring that legend back to life. Unova is fractured, just as it was in times of old, and we need the power of the hero and dragon to make our region whole again. We will establish our own hero, and resurrect the slumbering dragon! With their power together, we can end all conflict, and unify the people of Unova toward a common goal. If we can win people’s hearts and minds, we can easily create the world that I—I mean, Team Plasma—desires!”

Touko frowned to herself.

_This guy is such a hack…_

“But the black dragon bared its fangs against anyone who stood against it,” Burgh pointed out. “Do you think that justifies your use of violence? And what about stealing Pokémon from others? You still haven’t answered that simple question for me.”

“Is there any need?” said the first old man. “I don’t think a Gym Leader—someone who has made a career of forcing Pokémon to fight each other—could understand our noble goals.”

“Maybe I couldn’t,” said Burgh, “But honestly, there’s something else about what you’re saying that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Oh?” said Ghetsis.

“There are many different people here in Castelia,” Burgh continued. “But one thing we all have in common is that we care about Pokémon. Even people meeting for the first time can talk about Pokémon. Talk or battle or trade…”

The two older men nodded; there was truth in Burgh’s words.

“But if you’re trying to unite the hearts of Pokémon and people… doesn’t that mean that their relationship will get even stronger? Why are you taking Pokémon from trainers and calling it pretty words like ‘liberation?’ That’s the part I don’t understand. What you’re saying and what you’re doing don’t match up.”

“Stealing Pokémon from people who love them isn’t right!” Iris piped up.

Ghetsis only laughed.

“You quite intelligent, young man,” said Ghetsis. “I admire intelligent people—that was the reason I gathered the Seven Sages together, after all. But you are young, and you still have much to learn about our world. About the hearts of people and Pokémon. Only someone who doesn’t keep Pokémon in Pokéballs will ever understand those things.”

Touko had heard enough.

“Sorry, guys, but I call bullshit,” she said, stepping forward. All of Team Plasma stepped back, but Ghetsis stood firm, peering down at her with disgust. “We’ve asked you one question this whole time, and you still haven’t given us a straight answer. Tell us why you think you can take Pokémon from their human friends and we’ll leave you alone.”

“Lord Ghetsis, sir, allow us—!” the grunts interjected. Ghetsis raised a hand to silence them.

“I recognize you from Accumula town,” said Ghetsis. “Your Pokémon spoke up to me. Yes, I knew I’d seen your face before. What will you do now, girl? Now that N can’t be here to interfere?”

Touko paused. _How does he know N’s name…?_

At that moment, three Pokéballs leaped from Touko’s bag. They opened in quick succession: Darumaka, Sawk, and Dewott. The three Pokémon put themselves between Touko and Ghetsis and glared up at him, taking fighting stances.

“Sawk!”

“Makka! Makka!”

“Dewott de!”

“Rushing to your trainer’s defense again, you little lab rat?” Ghetsis sneered. “And I see you’ve brainwashed a few more poor Pokémon to take _your_ side. How unfortunate. If only you’d been born in the wild; then you would truly know what it means for Pokémon to be liberated.”

“You leave him alone—!” Touko shouted.

“Dewott, dewott!” Dewott cried. “De wott wott dewott! _You see?”_

It took a minute for Touko to parse that her Pokémon had actually said words she could understand.

“Did anyone else hear that?” she asked, glancing at her friends.

“It sounded like it said _you see,”_ said Touya.

All eyes fell on Dewott, but the Pokémon had nothing more to say. He simply stared Ghetsis down, smiling confidently with one of his scalchops in paw.

“Hmph,” said Ghetsis, frowning. “We’ve wasted enough time on you lot. My views have certainly not changed. But we will submit to your opinion, for now, and be on our way.”

Ghetsis turned to one of the grunts in the group at his side.

“Return that Pokémon to the girl you stole it from at once!”

“But sir—!”

“It’s best that we do not make any more trouble here,” said Ghetsis quietly. “Rest assured, my loyal knights… even if we must submit this time, the war is not yet over. The time will come when all Pokémon will be free.”

At Ghetsis’ words, the Plasma grunt seemed rejuvenated; he nodded and took a Pokéball from his pocket. It opened, and a Munna popped from it. Munna took the Pokéball in its mouth and floated quickly over to Bianca, who welcomed her Pokémon back with a tight hug.

“Munny! I’m so glad to see you again!” she said. “Th-thank you, sir!”

“Bianca, why are you thanking them?” asked Iris. “They take people’s Pokémon away!”

“But… I’m just so happy that Munny is safe,” said Bianca. “It doesn't seem like they hurt it, so…”

“The relationship between people and Pokémon can be very touching,” said Ghetsis, his voice devoid of any sweetness. “But in order to liberate Pokémon from people, we _will_ revive the legend of Unova—and win the hearts and minds of everyone. Farewell.”

Ghetsis snapped his fingers. The lights suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness. When they came on again, Team Plasma was gone. Even the decorations and battle standards had vanished, leaving the room stark and empty.

“They got away!” said Iris, pouting. “What about the other stolen Pokémon?”

“I don’t know…” said Burgh, “But for now, I suppose we’ll have to let them go. Thank you, everyone, for helping. If they’ve packed up their base, hopefully this means Team Plasma won’t be making trouble in Castelia anymore.”

Touko recalled her Pokémon before looking over at Touya. To her surprise, he was looking down sullenly, his fists clenched and trembling at his sides.

“Touya…?”

“I _hate_ Team Plasma!” he said, voice shaking. “They say people and Pokémon are friends, yet they steal Pokémon from the friends who care about them! They think that’s supposed to be _liberation?!_ And they want to get the power of a legendary Pokémon to threaten people into agreeing with them?! It doesn’t make sense… I don’t get it at all…”

Touko put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up, his brows knitted with worry.

“We’ll beat them, Touya,” said Touko. “I promise.”

“Mmhm,” Burgh added. “Don’t let them get you down, Touya. Team Plasma may be making a lot of noise right now, but they’re just one small group. Most of the people in Unova think Pokémon training is a good thing. Even if we aren’t as loud as Team Plasma, I want you to know that the rest of us have your back—people and Pokémon both. Don’t forget that, okay?”

Touya nodded; Burgh’s words seemed to have cheered him up somewhat.

“I should be off to the Gym,” said Burgh. “It was nice meeting you two—oh! I don’t think we ever properly introduced ourselves. You probably know this already, but I’m Burgh, the Gym Leader here.”

“I’m Touya, and this is Touko.”

“I see!” Burgh looked over each of them in turn. “Are you twins?”

Touko laughed.

“No, we’re not… but thanks for asking anyway.”

“I can see why you’d think that,” Touya added.

“Mmhmm,” said Burgh. “All right. Well, if you want to challenge the gym, feel free to stop by anytime! I’m always keeping an eye out for promising new challengers!”

“Will do! Thanks, Burgh!” said Touya.

“What about you, Bianca?” asked Iris. “Are you gonna challenge the gym too?”

“Um, well—!” Bianca adjusted her hat nervously. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough… I mean, I couldn’t do anything when Munny got stolen…”

“That’s okay! I’ll help you get stronger!” said Iris. “And you can help me not get scared around the tall buildings! Sound good?”

“W-wait—!” said Bianca. But it was too late; Iris was already pushing Bianca out the door and away. Burgh nodded to himself before taking his leave, and the two trainers followed him out. Outside, the sun was shining brightly in the late afternoon. Burgh waved to them cheerily before setting off back to the gym across the street.

“What a weird day,” said Touya. “First those guys in the coats, then this whole Team Plasma mess…”

“Yeah,” said Touko. “That Ghetsis guy gives me some serious bad vibes, too.”

“God, same,” Touya admitted. “He’s so full of himself, acting like he’s got the moral high ground here… What does he think gives him the right—?”

“Actually, I don’t know if he really believes it himself,” said Touko, frowning. “Earlier… I noticed he slipped up.”

“How so?”

“He almost said ‘the world _I_ desire’ instead of ‘the world Team Plasma desires.’”

“Oh, now that you mention it…” Touya put a hand to his chin pensively. “I hadn’t even noticed, but I think you’re right…”

“Something’s definitely up here,” said Touko. “There’s more to Team Plasma than they’re letting on…” 

Even as she thought about it—and didn’t like the implications—was it really her responsibility to get involved in taking them down? She would of course keep beating them back whenever they crossed paths, but there was only so much a regular trainer could do. Shouldn’t someone with more authority be handling this? 

“Touko?”

Touya’s voice snapped her from her thoughts.

“I dunno about you, but I’m _starving_ ,” Touya continued. “Wanna get some food? I need something to get my mind off all this...”

As if on cue, Touko’s stomach let out a needy growl.

“Guess I'm hungry too,” she said. “Let’s hit a restaurant, though; I wanna try something that isn’t Pokémon Center food.”

“Fair enough!”

As the two of them wandered around, Touya browsing for restaurants on his Town Map, Touko’s thoughts wandered back to her confrontation with Ghetsis. There was something else that was bothering her far more than his little slip, and she couldn’t get it out of her head.

Why had Ghetsis known N’s name?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was another scene that had originally included an instance of ghetsis having the same power as N (and later, a grunt translating for him). Needless to say, it flows a lot better without that lmao
> 
> Also, while I'm definitely removing a lot of dumb shit, there's some dumb shit i am absolutely leaving in. i will apologize for _nothing_
> 
> On a more serious note, I also used this chapter as more personal catharsis--I was writing it about a week before Sword and Shield came out. The pokemon fandom drama was at its peak, and people were harassing devs and generally being shitty to each other. Morale was at an all-time low, and for me, it was a deeply embarrassing time to be a Pokemon fan. Burgh's line about Team Plasma being a small group making a lot of noise came directly out of that atmosphere... It's almost funny looking back on it, considering how beloved Sword and Shield became after their release. (At least in my corner of the internet, haha)


	16. Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko and Touya meet up with Cheren, and spend some time wandering Castelia together. They soon find that Cheren isn't the only familiar face in town...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fist of all, I'd like to offer a sincere apology for not updating this fic for so long. I actually have quite a few more chapters ready to be posted, but due to new developments in other fandoms + getting stuck on the writing a few chapters from now + the general state of things the last few months, I basically completely forgot to get back to this orz. 
> 
> So, I figured I'd swing by and start posting out of my backlog just to get stuff out the door. I've been basically unable to write a decent creative sentence since March, so I don't know when I'll be able to keep writing this. But hopefully I can get myself spurred back into action sooner rather than later lmao
> 
> In the meantime, take a chapter that was a complete delight to write start to finish, with a uh, stronger than usual language warning lmao

_After a few more days of training around Castelia, Touya won his third badge at the gym. It hadn’t been very difficult; a few of his Pokémon had evolved while he was training, and his now-stronger Pignite was armed with several fire-type moves that roasted the competition. On the way out of the gym they ran into Cheren, who had beaten the gym earlier that morning and was just on his way to the desert. After trading introductions, Touko finally persuaded him to spend the day with them—after all, it had been a while since she and Cheren had last spent time together._

“So, Touko? How long are you planning to be in Castelia?” Cheren asked. The three of them were standing in line for Casteliacones, and with a thinner crowd lined up than usual, it looked like they might actually have a chance of getting some.

“I think we were gonna hang out here a little longer,” said Touko. “Touya just beat the Gym, but there’s still much more I wanna do. This place rules…”

“You’re not pursuing badges?” asked Cheren, tilting his head. “You beat the Gym in Striaton, didn’t you?”

“I mean, yeah,” said Touko, “But I’m not really interested in getting all the badges right now. Maybe later I’ll change my mind about it. This old dude wouldn’t let me leave town until I had at least one badge, so I mostly beat Cilan because I _had_ to…”

Cheren huffed a little, seemingly dissatisfied with her answer—but his turn had come at the counter, so he turned to place his order. Touko and Touya were able to order after him, and in minutes their Casteliacones were waiting for them. Touko noticed, morbidly, that the cones were styled after the ice cream-like Pokémon in their advertisements.

As the three of them left the stand and headed toward the park, Touko tried a bite of her ice cream. The flavor was incredible—it was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, and there was just the slightest hint of mint. It had been whipped up to a light, fluffy consistency, but still managed to hold its shape on the cone; even in the summer heat, it didn’t seem to melt as fast as she’d expected it to.

“Good, huh?” said Touya, noticing the look on her face. “Casteliacones are the best! It’s no wonder they sell like hotcakes.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” said Touko. “I can’t believe that’s what the line looks like on a _good_ day…”

“The flavor _is_ exceptional,” Cheren agreed, nursing his own cone. “If they could find some way to sell it in pints at stores, they could probably reduce wait times and make a little extra money…”

“Yeah, but then you could get it _anywhere,”_ Touko pointed out. “What makes it so special is that you can only get it here in Castelia!”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

As they rounded a corner, the sound of a commotion reached their ears. Just ahead of them and off to the side of the street was a vending machine, next to which a pair of burly-looking men and a Gurrdurr seemed to be hurling insults at someone standing across from them.

“What’s going on over there?” Cheren said, frowning. “They’re making quite a ruckus…” 

“Should we go another way?” Touya asked, cautiously. “I don’t want to get involved…”

“I’m going closer,” said Touko.

“Touko, wait—!”

But Touko had recognized the third man instantly—she’d know that bushy tea-green hair anywhere.

“You think you’re hot shit, huh?” said one of the burly men. Touko noticed that this one was wearing a pair of brand new, expensive-looking shoes. “You get off on goin’ around telling people they should release their Pokémon? That their Pokémon wanna be _free?”_

“Yeah, are we supposed to believe you can hear ‘em talk?” said the second man. “I bet you’ve been rackin’ up tons of money with a scam like that, but we ain’t fallin for it!”

“I’m not lying,” said N; though his tone was resolute, Touko could only barely hear him. “I really did hear your Pokémon. Just now, it was saying—!”

The first man didn’t even let him finish; simply decked him across the face. Touko almost dropped her ice cream in shock—the men laughed as N staggered a little, reeling from the force of the punch. Somehow he managed to hold his ground.

“You’re not helping your case,” he said, quietly. There was anger in his voice now, just beneath the surface. 

“I’m surprised you’re still standing, tough guy,” said the second man. “My bro packs the meanest punch this side of Castelia!”

“You hungry for seconds?” said the first man, winding up for another punch.

“Touya, hold my ice cream.”

Touko was off running before Touya had even registered the second cone in his hand.

_“Leave him alone!!”_

Both the burly men jumped at the piercing shriek of her voice. N flinched as well; recoiling more from shock than from fear. None of them had encountered pure rage of the caliber that Touko embodied at that moment, barreling toward them with the force of a freight train. She threw herself between N and the burly men, arms outstretched, and shrieked:

“What the _fuck_ do you think gives you the right to hit people?! I want an apology _right now!!”_

“Kid, this dude’s off his nut!” the second man roared back. 

“That doesn’t give you the right to hit him! _Holy shit?!?_ What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?!”

“Kid, the guy’s a hack!” the man with fancy shoes cut in. “He’s not someone you should be standin’ up f—wait just a _goddamn_ second.”

He recognized her, in that moment, and she him.

“Oh god, oh jeez,” he took a step back, and his Gurrdurr stepped back with him. “Not you again…!”

“It’s the crazy broad with the even crazier Pokémon!”

Touko took Darumaka’s Pokéball from her bag and held it up threateningly, glaring at them.

“You want a second pair of shitstained shoes? No? _Then get out of my sight.”_

_“Yes, ma’am!!!!”_

The two men turned tail and ran—the shoe-loving man picking up his Gurrdur and carrying it without even bothering to recall it. Touko watched them go, hands on her hips, until they’d disappeared around a corner. Only then did she turn back to N to see how he was doing. He had a pretty nasty bruise on his cheek, but other than that he seemed alright. He watched her with a mixture of fear and awe in his eyes, which Touko supposed was reasonable—she _had_ yelled quite a bit more loudly and spoke a bit more roughly than she’d meant to.

“Sorry if I scared you,” Touko said, grinning apologetically. “Sometimes I go a little overboard when I get mad… but I had to get those guys away from you, no matter what.”

“Thank you….” N said quietly. “You’re…”

“Touko.”

“Right, yes. You’re Touko. Sorry, I’m still bad with names…”

“No worries. You doing alright?”

“I think so…” N reached up to touch the bruise on his face, wincing a little. “I’ve never been punched by a human before…”

“Let me take a look…”

As Touko leaned in for a better look, Cheren and Touya finally came over to see what was going on.

“Oh, it’s you again,” said Cheren, recognizing N immediately.

“Hm?” N looked over at him. “You seem familiar. We met in Accumula, didn’t we?”

“We did. The name’s Cheren.”

“And you are…?” N turned to Touya curiously.

“Touya.”

“Touya… your name is almost like Touko’s. How interesting.”

“Yeah…” Touya frowned; he wasn’t sure how to react to N’s comment. “Uh… who are you, exactly?”

“N. Just like the letter. Or the symbol for natural numbers, if you want.”

“Huh…”

“That punch looked like it hurt,” said Cheren. “How do you feel? Any dizziness?”

“A little…” N admitted.

“We should probably sit him down,” said Cheren. “He might have a concussion, so we should keep an eye on him for a little while, too. I read about it in a book once.”

“There’s benches at the park,” said Touya.

“Come on, N,” said Touko, gesturing for him to follow them. “You can have some of my ice cream if you want.”

N looked between the three trainers cautiously, assessing whether it was safe to go with them—but the look on Touko’s face seemed to reassure him. 

“Alright,” he said, quietly. “I think sitting down will help…”

* * *

They were able to find a bench wide enough to seat four in Castelia’s central park. Though the park was full of trainers and Pokémon, Touko got them set up on a bench set back from the path, in the shade of a tree. N sat in the middle, with Touko on one side and Touya on the other. Cheren elected to sit on Touko’s other side, furthest from N. Touko gave N her ice cream while she rifled through Cheren’s first aid kit to see if he had anything to numb the pain.

“The ice cream is helping,” said N quietly. “Thank you again…”

“Good,” said Touko, smiling. “Have as much as you want.”

N’s expression brightened, and he took another grateful bite. 

“It doesn’t look like it’s swelling too much, either,” said Touya—he was on the side adjacent to the bruise so he could keep an eye on it. “Hopefully he didn’t break anything.”

“What happened back there, N?” Touko asked.

“Oh…” N looked down, as if he was embarrassed about it. “Those men had a Pokémon with them, and I heard its voice as I was walking by. It sounded so sad… I went to see if there was anything I could do, but…”

“But?”

“Well, I told them that their Pokémon was unhappy and should be set free.”

“Oh, that would explain it,” said Cheren, sighing. “They probably weren’t too happy about you coming up to them with unsolicited comments.”

“I was only trying to offer my opinion,” said N simply.

“Yes, well, I would be careful about that going forward,” said Cheren. “Your _opinion_ isn’t very popular around here, much less when no one’s asked for it.”

N frowned at him.

“Are you saying this was my own fault?”

“Well—!”

“Alright, you two, that’s enough,” said Touko. “Cheren, maybe N shouldn’t be going around butting into conversations, but that still doesn’t mean he deserves a punch in the face, alright?”

“Fine.”

“Um…” Touya piped up. “Can I ask something?”

The others looked back at him.

“N—what do you mean you heard the Pokémon’s voice?” Touya asked. “Can you… can you really talk to Pokémon?”

“Yes,” N answered. “I’ve always been able to understand them.”

“So he _says,”_ Cheren added, pointedly. Touko glared at him. 

“It’s hard for me to ignore the voices of Pokémon who are crying out in pain,” N went on. “That’s why I had to do something.”

“I see,” said Touya. “That’s cool, though! Are you a trainer, too? It must be so easy to train Pokémon when you can understand them!”

Touko blanched as she realized that Touya didn’t know N’s stance on Pokémon training, and it was too late to warn him.

“Yikes, uh—!” she started.

“Oh, no,” said N apologetically, before Touko could get a word in. “I’m not a trainer. I don’t like to see Pokémon kept in Pokéballs. I can’t hear their voices that way…”

“O-oh…” said Touya. He visibly bristled, gripping the strap of his bag. “Does that mean you’re part of Team Plasma, too?”

“Hm,” N shook his head. “Team Plasma… they’re aiming for the same future that I am, so I guess that doesn’t make us enemies.”

“And what _is_ that future, might I ask?” asked Cheren.

“A future where people and Pokémon can become perfect,” said N. “A world without Pokéballs… doesn’t that sound wonderful?”

“It sounds like a hassle,” said Touya. “Pokéballs make it easy to care for many Pokémon at once. I can’t imagine having to walk around with all my Pokémon following behind me.”

“But if you can only carry six with you as a trainer, then what happens to the others?” N continued, his cadence picking up speed. “Do they have to spend the rest of their lives shut up in Pokéballs, _ignored_ by the trainer who was supposed to be their friend? That’s what I hate the most, even more than seeing Pokémon fight each other. The thought of so many of my friends shut away by trainers who have no plans to be with them…. It makes me sick…”

Touya stared at him, unable to come up with anything to say back. Cheren furrowed his brow and pushed his glasses farther up his nose; frowning. Touko tried hard to stay calm, even though in her head she went over a few of the counterarguments she’d been thinking up in her spare time. _Pokémon trust people. That’s why they allow themselves to be caught in the first place. They know we can get stronger together. Oh N, there’s so much you just don’t understand! There must be some way to get through to you…_

At the same time, though, she couldn’t help but see his point. Many trainers had more than six Pokémon… what happened to the others that they couldn’t carry with them? Were they really condemned to a life of boredom inside Pokéballs? That didn’t seem right either. If that was the truth, then trainers wouldn’t be able to capture more than six Pokémon, or else Pokéballs would have been branded as inhumane and banned a long time ago… wouldn’t they?

Touko looked over at N, who was looking at the ground in frustration.

“N…?” she asked. “Are you going to be okay, dude?”

“Oh… I’ll be all right,” he answered quietly. “This issue is… important to me.”

N leaned back on the bench and looked up, eyes closed. Touko watched him with a confused mix of concern and admiration. On the one hand, she couldn’t bring herself to excuse his distorted view of Pokémon training, and doubted she ever would. On the other, she couldn’t help noticing the contours of his profile, the way his tea-green hair fell in his face… He really _was_ beautiful. Infuriatingly so.

_Why does he have to be so handsome and so, so wrong? It’s not fair…_

“Someday, we’ll all be friends,” said N. He neither moved his head nor opened his eyes. “Someday our hearts will beat as one, and we’ll all live in harmony together. That’s the future I envision.”

His words reminded her, uncannily, of Ghetsis’s lengthy talk the previous day. Now that she thought of it, hadn’t Ghetsis mentioned N by name, too? What was that all about? Touko tapped him lightly on the shoulder to get his attention. He opened one eye to look at her.

“N,” said Touko, “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Uh…” Suddenly, Touko changed her mind. She’d wanted to ask him if he knew Ghetsis, but figured maybe now wasn’t the time. If he’d wanted to admit more than a passing connection to Team Plasma, he’d had plenty of chances to do so and hadn’t. Now that she had his attention, though, she had no choice but to blurt out a question. “Is green your natural color? I-I mean, not to sound rude or anything… I’ve just been wondering. It’s not a hair color you see every day.”

“Natural…?” said N. “Do you mean the color I was born with?”

“Yeah…”

“I see. Then yes, this is my, um, ‘natural color.’”

Touko smiled and looked down bashfully, hands folded in her lap.

“Tea-green is… my favorite color,” she admitted.

“Really?” N seemed genuinely flattered by this. He sat forward again and looked at her. “I didn’t know that. Why don’t you wear any green?”

“Well, I couldn’t find any green stuff in the shade I like!” said Touko with a laugh. “I’m from a small town. We didn’t have any big department stores or anything, just a couple of mom-and-pop boutiques. And a thrift store, but that was full of old people clothes…”

Touko realized she was rambling and trailed off. N seemed to be lost in thought: his gaze was turned to his own kelly-green shoes. Aside from his hair, they were the only splash of color in his outfit. Touko found herself wondering where N had gotten his clothing, if he was really as sheltered as he seemed. Was he from a big city, where clothes of all kinds were readily available? He didn’t seem like much of a shopper, but his outfit was fashionable enough… 

“Your favorite color…” said N, distantly. “It’s nice to hear that.”

N stood up, hands in his pockets. Everyone looked up at him, a bit surprised to see him ready to stand again. Touko realized that her gaze was drawn in particular to the back pockets of his pants, so she awkwardly looked away.

“I should probably be going…” said N.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” asked Touko. “You should sit a little longer if you’re still dizzy…”

“Oh, no, I’m alright now,” said N. “My face still stings a little bit, but it’s not so bad anymore. I think I can make it back to the place I’m staying, anyway. Thank you all for your help.”

“Thanks for sitting with us,” said Touya, though he sounded less than sincere. “It was good to meet you.”

“Yes…” said N.

“See you, N…” said Touko.

N looked over his shoulder, briefly smiled back at them—slightly lopsided thanks to the bruise on his face—and started off. It was a long time before anyone spoke; N had left the park and was far out of earshot. Touko let out a sigh, leaning back on the bench. Part of her wished he’d stayed longer; another part thought he couldn’t have left soon enough.

“That was the guy from your picture, wasn’t it,” said Touya. “I recognized the hair.”

“Yeaaaah, that was him…” Touko admitted.

“What a creep,” Touya went on. “Who the heck goes by just a letter? And man, his opinion of Pokémon training was so backwards. Didja hear how his voice got all weird when he was talking about it? Sent a chill down my spine… not to mention that whole ‘one day our hearts will beat as one’ thing…”

“I also noticed that was oddly phrased,” said Cheren, adjusting his glasses.

“You know what that reminds me of?” said Touya, turning to Touko. “Remember yesterday, Touko, when that creepy old guy was talking? He said something about uniting the hearts of people and Pokémon too, didn’t he?”

“Yeah…” said Touko.

“I wonder if they know each other?” said Touya.

“What creepy old guy?” asked Cheren.

“The Team Plasma guy we saw in Accumula,” said Touko. “With the robes and monocle? You remember him, right?”

“Oh. _Him,”_ said Cheren. “He was here?”

“Yeah, yesterday,” said Touko. “He had this whole speech about reviving some legend and making everyone submit to his opinion, but it almost sounded like that plan was just the beginning… I don’t like that guy at all.”

“Me either,” said Cheren, “Actually, funny you should mention that. I’ve been thinking since we encountered N back in Accumula, and there were a couple of things about him that bothered me.”

“You’re _still_ thinking about that?” said Touko.

“Listen,” said Cheren. “Do you remember how N spoke clearly and evenly to that old man, but talked a mile a minute when he was talking to us?”

“Kinda,” said Touko. “He does talk pretty fast, though.”

“I also thought it was weird how that old man actually _listened_ to him,” Cheren went on. “N’s not the police, and that old man could’ve easily just ignored him and gone on ranting. You saw how he reacted to you and Oshawott—he just kept twisting the situation to prove his own point. But when N called him out, he packed up and left, just like that…”

“I mean, he _was_ done with his speech,” said Touko.

“Okay, but think about this—what if N was acting when he was talking to that Team Plasma guy? What if the whole thing was staged?”

“I _doubt_ it was staged,” said Touko, laughing uncomfortably. “N was probably just watching the demonstration and stepped in because Ghetsis looked like he was going to hurt Masamune.”

“I’m telling you, there’s something else there,” Cheren went on. “That still doesn’t explain why that ‘Ghetsis’ or whoever didn’t retaliate against N the way he did you. I bet they’re related, too; how many people have hair that color? Something’s fishy here, something’s really fishy…”

“If you say so…” Touko sighed.

“He has a point,” said Touya. “I’ve never seen anyone outside of Team Plasma say that Pokémon training is wrong. N would be the first.”

“There’s all kinds of people in Unova…” Touko began, but decided not to finish the thought. Despite how badly she wanted N to have nothing to do with Team Plasma, she knew Cheren was right. After all, she already knew they were connected somehow—or at the very least, Ghetsis knew about N. 

That the exact nature of their relationship wasn’t clear was perhaps most worrying of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Notes on changes from the original:**  
>  Lot of changes this chapter! The original version was a cringefest start to finish; I won't go into too much detail about what transpired to save yalls sanity, but suffice to say there was a terrible clash between what I wanted to see happen and what would have made sense for the characters at this point in the story. 
> 
> N getting punched is new to this version of the story.... I kinda put it in just for fun lmao 
> 
> Also, Cheren's suspicion of a connection between N and Ghetsis had originally appeared much earlier in the story (right after the Accumula meetup) but I decided to move it back because it didn't make sense for him to be making these wild claims like 5 minutes after the fact


End file.
